Ti and Ti-based alloys are used in many aerospace and automotive components due to their high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. However, room and elevated temperature wear resistance remain an issue, thus requiring some form of secondary hard phase, e.g., refractory carbides and oxides, as well as solid lubrication to mitigate wear. In this study, Ti-TiC (14, 24 and 35 vol% TiC) composite coatings were deposited on mild steel substrates using cold spray with comparisons made to baseline cold-sprayed Ti. The dry sliding friction and wear behavior were studied from 25°C to 575°C and during thermal cycling in this temperature range. While the room temperature friction coefficient of all the coatings remained relatively constant at ~0.5, the wear rate continually decreased from ~1x10-3 to ~2x10-5 mm3/N-m with increasing the TiC loading. Raman spectroscopy measurements determined that the same TiO2 tribochemical phases (rutile and anatase) were present on the room temperature sliding wear surfaces, thus responsible for similar friction coefficients. With increasing sliding temperatures to 575°C, the Ti-35%TiC composite coating exhibited the best overall tribological behavior, i.e., the friction coefficient decreased to ~0.3 along with a negative wear rate of -6.6x10-5 mm3/N-m (material gain on the wear track was recorded due to oxidation and transfer from the counterface). These friction and wear reductions were determined to be due to the formation of stable, low interfacial shear strength oxide glaze layers on the wear surfaces, composed of TiO2, WO3, and CoWO4 (transfer from WC-Co counterface). In addition, self-adaptive friction behavior was observed during thermal cycling as a result of the microstructural and tribochemical differences in the tribolayers.

Foram realizados ensaios tribológicos do tipo pino-disco com pinos de cobre puro, alumínio e latão para sob cargas normais de 10, 20 e 50 N contra discos de aço, que foram analisados após os ensaios utilizando interferometria óptica 3D e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. O par tribológico cobre-aço apresentou curva de coeficiente de atrito instável, com valor médio de 0,65. Os pares alumínio-aço e latão-aço apresentaram curvas de coeficiente de atrito mais estáveis que aquelas apresentadas nos ensaios com pinos de cobre, com valor médio de coeficiente de atrito de 0,42 e 0,30, respectivamente. Tanto nos discos ensaiados com pinos de cobre quanto nos pinos ensaiados com pinos de alumínio observou-se a formação de filmes ricos em oxigênio. A formação de ilhas de cobre metálico provocou a instabilidade do comportamento do coeficiente de atrito do par cobre-aço, enquanto que o par alumínio-aço teve um comportamento mais estável devido as ilhas de óxido de alumínio. Nos ensaios utilizando pinos de latão, por sua vez, a presença de chumbo e oxidação moderada da superfície foi responsável pelo menor e mais estável coeficiente de atrito dos três pares tribológicos. O aumento da carga normal não alterou o comportamento do coeficiente de atrito, porém teve influência na formação das camadas de material aderido do pino na superfície dos discos. / Pin on disc tribotests were performed with copper, brass and aluminium pins tested against steel discs under normal loads between 10 and 50 N and characterized by means of laser interferometry and SEM. Copper-steel tribotests showed an unstable coefficient of friction curve around 0.65. Aluminium-steel and brass-steel tribopairs featured stable coefficient of friction curves, around 0.42 and 0.30, respectively. Both copper-steel and aluminiumsteel pairs presented oxygen rich transfer films. An adhesion of metallic copper patches caused the unstable coefficient of friction for the copper-steel, whereas for the aluminium-steel tribopair, the oxide layer controlled the coefficient of friction behaviour. An oxygen rich layer with some lead controlled the coefficient of friction for the brass-steel tribopair. Increasing the normal load did not affect the coefficient of friction but affect the formation of transfer layers.

Launchers are military systems that are responsible for communication with munitions, safe seperation and aiming of rockets and missiles to the target. Since they are military equipments, they are used in harsh environments. One of the most important design considerations for military equipment is its maintability and one of the most important parameter which affects the maintability is wear in launchers. Therefore, for predicting the life-time of a launcher, wear should be investigated beside other parameters such as fatigue etc. This thesis study includes experimental and modeling study about dry sliding wear in some mechanical parts of a typical rail launcher that is used in helicopters. Firstly, measurements about the material loss, which is generated during firing of missiles, were made on launcher components which have interfaces with missile. Then, these results were used to simulate the wear phenomenon by using a commercial finite element program, ANSYS. By the help of finite element model, crack initiation period depending on wear is tried to be evaluated without making additional firing tests.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Sliding wear is a complicated form of wear involving different factors. The factors affecting the process are the mechanical properties of the materials, sliding distance, sliding speed, and normal force applied to the contact. An experimental study was conducted to assess the performance of Ti6Al4V in self-mated and various counterface material contact couples subjected to linear reciprocating dry sliding motion. The normal force was varied for all the experiments to understand the effect it had on specific couples. Sliding wear experiments were also conducted on cemented carbides coupled with Ti6Al4V. In certain applications carbide coatings are used and could possibly come into contact with Ti6Al4V. Cemented carbides used in the study were manufactured through spark plasma sintering and liquid phase sintering. An in depth study was conducted to assess the spark plasma sintered materials and compare these to those manufactured through liquid phase sintering. The experimental study revealed that an increase in normal force, in sliding experiments, led to an increase in friction and wear volume loss of the Ti6Al4V pin. In addition the experiments found that Ti6Al4V was prone to adhesion and surface oxidation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Glyslytasie is 'n gekompliseerde slytasievorm wat verskillende faktore behels.Die faktore wat die proses beïnvloed is die meganiese eienskappe van die materiale,gly-afstand,glyspoed en normale druk(krag) wat op die kontakoppervlakte toegepas word. 'n Eksperimentele studie om die werksverrigting van Ti6Al4V in verenigde en verskeie teenwerkende materiaal kontakpare wat onderwerp is aan lineêre omgekeerde droë gly-aksie te assesseer is uitgevoer.Die normale krag vir al die eksperimente om die effek wat dit op die spesifieke pare gehad het te verstaan is gevarieer. Glyslytasie-eksperimente is ook op gesementeerde karbiedes wat met Ti6Al4V gekoppel is,uitgevoer. In sekere toepassings is karbiedlae gebruik en kon moontlik met Ti6Al4V in kontak gekom het. Gesementeerde karbiedes wat in die studie gebruik is, is deur vonkplasmasinter en vloeibare fase-sinter vervaardig. 'n Indieptestudie is ook uitgevoer om die vonkplasmasintermateriale en dié materiale wat deur vloeibare fasesinter vervaardig is te vergelyk. Die eksperimentele studie het getoon dat 'n toename in normale krag in glyeksperimente gelei het tot 'n toename in wrywing en slytasievolumeverlies van die Ti6Al4V pin. Bykomend tot die eksperimente is gevind dat Ti6Al4V geneig was tot adhesie en oppervlakteoksidasie.

A number of investigators have reported enhancement in oxidation and wear resistant of carbon-carbon composites (CCC) in the presence of protective coating layers. However, application of a surface and subsurface coating system that can preserve its oxidation and wear resistance along with maintaining lubricity at high temperature remains unsolved. To this end, thermodynamically stable protective oxides (ZnO/Al2O3/ZrO2) have been deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) to infiltrate porous CCC and graphite foams in order to improve the thermal stability and wear resistance in low and high speed sliding contacts. Characterization of microstructural evolution was achieved by using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping in scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with focused ion beam (FIB), x-ray tomography, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Evaluation of the tribological properties of CCC coated with abovementioned ALD thin films were performed by employing low speed pure sliding tribometer and a high speed/frequency reciprocating rig to simulate the fretting wear behavior at ambient temperature and elevated temperatures of 400°C.It was determined with x-ray tomography imaging and EDS mapping that ALD ZnO/Al2O3/ZrO2 nanolaminates and baseline ZrO2 coatings exhibited excellent conformality and pore-filling capabilities down to ~100 μm and 1.5 mm in the porous CCC and graphite foam, respectively, which were dependent on the exposure time of the ALD precursors. XRD and HRTEM determined the crystalline phases of {0002} textured ZnO (wurtzite), amorphous Al2O3, and {101}-tetragonal ZrO2. Significant improvements up to ~65% in the sliding and fretting wear factors were determined for the nanolaminates in comparison to the uncoated CCC. A tribochemical sliding-induced mechanically mixed layer (MML) was found to be responsible for these improvements. HRTEM confirmed the presence of a high density of ZnO shear-induced basal stacking faults inside the wear tracks responsible for intrafilm shear velocity accommodation that mitigated friction and wear.

In sheet metal forming (SMF) of materials such as stainless steels there is a major problem with transfer and accumulation of sheet material to the metal forming tool surface. The problem is known as galling; a kind of severe adhesive wear, which results in severe scratching of produced parts. In this thesis, galling observed in contacts between tool steels and stainless steel sheets under lubricated sliding conditions was studied, focusing on the early stage of galling. It was found that changes in friction cannot be used as galling indicator in the early stage of galling because transfer and accumulation of sheet material happens even though friction is low and stable. The progression of galling is influenced by tool steel damage occurring around the tool steel hard phases caused by sheet material flow, which results in formation of wear-induced galling initiation sites. A correlation between the critical contact pressure to galling and sheet material proof stress was found. Galling happened at lower pressures for sheet material with lower proof stress possibly due to easier sheet material flow, resulting in quicker tool damage. Material transfer and tool steel damage were delayed for tool steels comprising homogenously distributed, small and high hard phases. Additionally, the galling resistance was higher for tool steels with higher hardness due to decreased tool steel damage. In a comparison between observations of the worn tool surfaces after wear tests and calculations in FEM it was found that material transfer did not take place at regions with highest contact pressures but at regions with highest plastic strains. The results obtained in this thesis indicate that tool steel damage and sheet material flow occurring in the contact during sliding are important factors influencing galling.

In sheet metal forming (SMF) of materials such as stainless steels there is a major problem with transfer and accumulation of sheet material to the metal forming tool surface. The problem is known as galling; a kind of severe adhesive wear, which results in severe scratching of produced parts. In this thesis, galling observed in contacts between tool steels and stainless steel sheets under lubricated sliding conditions was studied, focusing on the early stage of galling. It was found that changes in friction cannot be used as galling indicator in the early stage of galling because transfer and accumulation of sheet material happens even though friction is low and stable. The progression of galling is influenced by tool steel damage occurring around the tool steel hard phases caused by sheet material flow, which results in formation of wear-induced galling initiation sites. A correlation between the critical contact pressure to galling and sheet material proof stress was found. Galling happened at lower pressures for sheet material with lower proof stress possibly due to easier sheet material flow, resulting in quicker tool damage. Material transfer and tool steel damage were delayed for tool steels comprising homogenously distributed, small and high hard phases. Additionally, the galling resistance was higher for tool steels with higher hardness due to decreased tool steel damage. In a comparison between observations of the worn tool surfaces after wear tests and calculations in FEM it was found that material transfer did not take place at regions with highest contact pressures but at regions with highest plastic strains. The results obtained in this thesis indicate that tool steel damage and sheet material flow occurring in the contact during sliding are important factors influencing galling.

Yes / The tribological performance of a nanocrystalline coating is heavily influenced by its composition, morphology, and microstructural characteristics. This research work describes the effect of heat treatment temperature on the microstructural, morphological, and mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline Ni/TiO2 coatings produced by electrophoresis. The surface morphology and coating cross section were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composition of coatings and the percentage of TiO2 nanoparticles incorporated in the Ni matrix were studied and estimated by using an energy-dispersive spectroscopic (EDS) analysis, while x-ray diffractometry (XRD) was used to investigate the effect of heat treatment temperature on phase structure. The results showed agglomeration of TiO2 nanoparticles on the surface of the coating. The high hardness and wear resistance recorded for the as-deposited coating was attributed to the uniform distribution of TiO2 nanoparticle clusters throughout the cross section of the coating. Heat treatment of the Ni/TiO2 coatings to temperatures above 200 °C led to significant grain growth that changed the surface morphology of the coating and reduced the strengthening effects of the nanoparticles, thus causing a reduction in the hardness and wear resistance of the coatings.

Neste trabalho, estudaram-se os mecanismos de desgaste por deslizamento dos aços AISI 304 e AISI 316 em função da carga normal (de 6 N a 20 N) e da velocidade tangencial (de 0,07 m/s a 0,81 m/s). De acordo com o planejamento fatorial 23, realizaram-se ensaios de desgaste em equipamento convencional, do tipo pino-contra-disco. Foram usadas técnicas de análise das superfícies e das partículas após o desgaste: microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), difração de raios-X, espectroscopia Mössbauer, rugosidade, temperatura e dureza instrumentada. Concluiu-se que os mecanismos de desgaste por deslizamento para os aços AISI 304 e AISI 316 são dominados pela deformação plástica (desgaste por oxidação de partículas metálicas, desgaste adesivo e desgaste misto). A variação da taxa de desgaste dos dois materiais dependeu do efeito da interação entre os níveis de carga normal e velocidade tangencial. Por meio do planejamento composto central, foi possível obter um modelo empírico da variação da taxa de desgaste em função da carga normal e da velocidade. / In this work, sliding wear mechanism of AISI 304 and AISI 316 austenitic stainless steels were studied as a function of the applied load (from 6 N to 20 N) and the tangential velocity (from 0.07 m/s to 0.81 m/s). Following the 23 factorial design, wear experiments were performed using a conventional pin-on-disc machine. Worn surfaces and wear debris analysis techniques were used: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, stylus profiling, surface temperature measurement and instrumented indentation. Plasticity-dominated wear (metallic debris oxidation, adhesive wear and mixed wear) are the sliding wear mechanisms for AISI 304 and AISI 316 steels. The wear rate behavior depended on interaction effect between applied load and tangential velocity. An empirical model of wear rate as a function of applied load and tangential velocity was obtained by means of the central composite design.

A pesquisa relativa ao transporte ferroviário no Brasil tem se intensificado nos últimos anos visando principalmente a melhoria no desempenho do par rodatrilho. Isso se deve à demanda de se transportar cada vez mais carga por eixo com a finalidade de reduzir o custo de transporte. Através de mudanças na microestrutura do material ou de mudanças na composição das ligas utilizadas na fabricação pode se aumentar a resistência do par roda-trilho. Neste trabalho foi analisada a influência de diferentes microestruturas (puramente perlíticas e perlíticas-bainíticas), obtidas por meio de tratamento térmico por dilatometria, nas propriedades de um aço alto carbono similar ao utilizado em rodas convencionais classe C AAR destinadas ao transporte de carga pesada. As análises empregaram técnicas metalográficas (identificação de fases presentes e distância interlamelar da perlita), ensaios magnéticos (saturação magnética e ruído magnético de Barkhausen), ensaio mecânico de dureza e ensaio tribológico de resistência ao desgaste por deslizamento. Foram caracterizadas rodas ferroviárias classe C AAR em quatro condições distintas: usadas e novas, fundidas e forjadas. / Research about rail transport in Brazil has been intensified recently due the need to improve the wheel-rail performance, considering the demand of increasing axle load aiming for transportation cost reduction. Changes in the material microstructure or in the alloys composition can improve the wheel-rail resistance. A eutectoid steel similar to that used in conventional class C AAR wheels (designed to heavy haul transportation - high loads and low speeds) was submitted to isothermal heat treatments applying dilatometry techniques at ten different cycles. Different microstructures (totally pearlitic and pearlitic-bainitic) were obtained and their influence on the mechanical and magnetic properties was analyzed. The analysis included metallographic techniques (identification of phases and pearlite interlamellar spacing), magnetic testing (magnetic saturation and magnetic Barkhausen noise) and mechanical testing (hardness and pin-ondisc tests). Railway wheels Class C ARR were characterized in four different conditions: new and used, cast and forged.