Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Articular cartilage (AC) is a strong but flexible connective tissue that covers and protects the end of the long bones. Although cartilage has excellent friction and wear properties that allow smooth joint function during daily activities, these properties are not fully understood. Many material properties of cartilage are anisotropic and vary with anatomic location and the composition of the tissue, but whether this is also true for cartilage friction and wear has not been previously determined. Furthermore, cartilage disease and injury are major health concerns that affect millions of people, but there are few available treatments to prevent the progression of cartilage degeneration. Collagen crosslinking may be a potential treatment to reduce cartilage wear and slow or prevent the progression of cartilage disease. The objectives of this thesis were to investigate the relationships between the friction/wear characteristics of cartilage and the orientation of the preferred fiber direction, the anatomic location of the tissue, the composition of the tissue, and exogenous photochemical crosslinking. In the superficial zone, AC has preferential fiber direction which leads to anisotropic material behavior. Therefore, we hypothesized that AC will show anisotropic behavior between longitudinal and transverse direction in an accelerated, in vitro wear test on bovine cartilage in terms of friction and wear. This hypothesis was proven by the quantification of glycosaminoglycans released from the tissue during the wear test, which showed that more glycosaminoglycans were released when the wear direction was transverse to the direction of the fibers. However, the hydroxyproline released from the tissue during the wear test was not significantly different between the two directions, nor was the coefficient of friction. The material properties of AC can also vary with anatomic location, perhaps due to differences in how the tissue is loaded in vivo. We hypothesized that cartilage from a higher load bearing site will give better wear resistance than cartilage from lower load bearing regions. However, no differences in friction or wear were observed between the different anatomic locations on the bovine femoral condyles. The concentration of collagen, glycosaminoglycans, cells and water in the tissue was also quantified, but no significant differences in tissue composition were found among the locations that were tested. Although wear did not vary with anatomic location, variation in the wear measurements were relatively high. One potential source of variation is the composition of the cartilage. To determine whether cartilage composition influences friction and wear, a correlation analysis was conducted. An accelerated, in vitro wear test was conducted on cartilage from bovine femoral condyles, and the tissue adjacent to the wear test specimens was analyzed for collagen, glycosaminoglycan, cell, and water content. Because wear occurs on the cartilage surface, the superficial zone of the cartilage might play an important role in wear test. Therefore, composition of the adjacent cartilage was determined in both the superficial zone and the full thickness of the tissue. A significant negative correlation was found between wear and collagen content in the full thickness of the tissue, and between the initial coefficient of friction and the collagen content in the superficial zone. This correlation suggests that variation in the collagen content in the full thickness of the cartilage partially explains differences in amount of wear between specimens. The wear resistance of cartilage can be improved with exogenous crosslinking agents, but the use of photochemical crosslinking to improve wear resistance is not well understood. Two photochemical crosslinking protocols were analyzed to improve the wear resistance of the cartilage by using chloro-aluminum phthalocyanine tetrasulfonic acid (CASPc) and 670nm laser light. The cartilage treated with the two crosslinking protocols had lower wear than the non-treated group without changing the friction properties of the cartilage.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Background: Erosive tooth wear (ETW) is the loss of tooth substance due to chemo-mechanical action unrelated to bacteria. ETW affects approximately 46 percent of children/adolescents and 80 percent of adults in the U.S. Visual examination indices are available for the clinical assessment of ETW. Although useful, they are subjective and heavily based on the clinical experience of the examiner. Some quantitative techniques have been proposed and used for clinically assessing erosive tooth wear, including quantitative light-induced fluorescence, ultrasonic measurement, and more recently, polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT). Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the ability of PS-OCT to objectively measure erosive tooth wear on occlusal surfaces. Method: This study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, 10 sound extracted human lower first premolars were selected and then exposed to tooth wear simulation gradually. PS-OCT and micro computed tomography (μ-CT) were used to evaluate enamel thickness of those premolars at the buccal cusp tip during the simulation. In phase 2, 40 extracted human lower first premolars with different severity levels of ETW on occlusal surfaces were selected based on the Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) index. A total of 10 teeth (n =10) were selected for each BEWE score (0/1/2/3). PS-OCT and μ-CT were used to evaluate the enamel thickness at the highest point on the occlusal surface. Results: There was good agreement between PS-OCT and μ-CT in both phases (phase 1: 0.89 and phase 2: 0.97) with no significant difference between PS-OCT and μ-CT. Conclusion: This result shows the potential of PS-OCT as reliable method for measuring enamel thickness and monitoring tooth wear progression on the occlusal surface

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The first question addressed in this thesis is whether the cumulative triboemission from the abrasion of alumina by a diamond indenter (repeat-pass sliding) correlates with the volume of material removed and, in particular, whether transitions in the rate of material removal are mirrored in the cumulative triboemission rate. As a function of load and number of diamond passes, several wear regimes are observed that are characterized from SEM micrographs by different relative proportions of plastic flow material and fractured surface in the wear scar. In all but one wear regime, the correlation between the wear volume and cumulative triboemission is modest (linear regression coefficient R2 = 0.71); including the one atypical wear regime worsens the correlation. The wear volume and cumulative triboemission are shown to be random variables with normal and lognormal distributions, respectively. Again, excluding the atypical wear regime, the correlation between the logarithms of the estimated population means is significantly better (R2 = 0.91) than the correlation between wear volume and cumulative triboemission for individual samples. In addition to the overall correlation between wear volume and cumulative triboemission, transitions from one wear regime to another are marked by changes in the slope of the mean cumulative triboemission versus pass number. These transitions correlate with the relative fraction of plastic flow debris in the wear scar. The second question addressed in this thesis is whether the introduction of the chemical vapor aluminum tri-sec butoxide, [C2H5CH(CH3)O]3Al, ATSB, into the boundary layer of an alumina-on-alumina sliding contact can reduce wear and friction. A split-plot factorial experiment was conducted; the factors tested, in addition to the presence or absence of ATSB, were normal load, sliding speed, and surface roughness. The main conclusions of the experiment are that ATSB has no statistically significant effect on specific wear, but that the presence of ATSB reduces friction by 21% at low sliding speed (0.02 m/s) and increases friction by 26% at high sliding speed (1.2 m/s). / Ph. D.

The primary purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness and utility of laser-based sensors for measuring, quantitatively, the presence and extent of top-of-rail (TOR) friction modifiers that are commonly used in the railroad industry for reducing friction between railcar wheels and rail. Modifying the friction between the wheel and rail is not only important for significantly reducing rolling resistance, but it also contributes to reducing wheel and rail wear, lowering rolling contact fatigue, and potentially curving resistance. It is common to monitor rail lubrication empirically by manually observing the sheen of the rail and tactically sensing any residues that may be present on the rail. Often performed by experienced railroad engineers, such methods are highly subjective and do not provide a quantitative assessment of how lubricated or unlubricated the track may be. A new, quantitative measurement method for accurately assessing the state of lubrication of rail is developed and studied in depth. The method takes advantage of the light reflection and dispersion properties of laser-based optical sensors to provide a repeatable, verifiable, and accurate measure of the presence of TOR friction modifiers on the rail. The measurement system is assembled in a self-contained, portable rail cart that can be pushed on the rail at walking speeds. Various TOR states are assimilated in the lab for assessing the effectiveness of the laser system. Additionally, the laboratory results are repeated in the field on various tracks, including revenue service track. The results of the tests indicate that the developed system is able to accurately measure the presence of TOR friction modifiers from none to fully-saturated, but is not affected by environmental factors such as rain, sunlight, type of rail, and top-of-rail condition. The measurements provide the means for classifying the state of rail friction in an indexed manner. The results of the study will not only have a significant effect on more efficient use of TOR friction modifiers for promoting better fuel efficiency, but they can also have a major impact on braking practices in applications such as Positive Train Control (PTC). / Ph. D.

Automotive companies are actively pursuing to increase the use of high-strength-lightweight alloys such as aluminum, magnesium, and advanced/ultra high-strength steels (A/UHSS) in body panel and structural part applications to achieve fuel efficiency while satisfying several environmental and safety concerns. A/UHSS sheet materials with higher strength and crashworthiness capabilities, in comparison to mild steel alloys, are considered as a near-term (i.e., ~5 years) choice of material for body and structural components due to their relatively low cost when compared with other lightweight materials such as aluminum and magnesium. However, A/UHSS materials present an increased level of die wear and springback in stamping operations when compared to the currently used mild steel alloys due to their higher surface hardness and high yield strength levels. In order to prevent the excessive wear effect in stamping dies, various countermeasures have been proposed such as alternative coatings, modified surface enhancements in addition to the use of newer die materials including cast, cold work tool, and powder metallurgical tool steels. In this study, a new die wear test method was developed and tested to provide a cost-effective solution for evaluating various combinations of newly developed die materials, coatings and surfaces accurately and rapidly. A new slider type of test system was developed to replicate the actual stamping conditions including the contact pressure state, sliding velocity level and continuous and fresh contact pairs (blank-die surfaces). Several alternative die materials in coated or uncoated conditions were tested against different AHSS sheet blanks under varying load, sliding velocity circumstances. Prior to and after wear tests, several measurements and tribological examinations were performed to obtain a quantified performance evaluation using commonly adapted wear models. Analyses showed that (1) the rapid wear method is feasible and results in reasonable wear assessments, (2) uncoated die materials are prone to expose severe form wear (galling, scoring, etc.) problems; (3) coated samples are unlikely to experience such excessive wear problems, as expected; (4) almost all of the the recently developed die materials (DC 53, Vancron 40, Vanadis 4) performed better when compared to conventional tool steel material AISI D2, and (5) in terms of coating type, die materials coated with thermal diffusion (TD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coatings performed relatively better compared to other tested coating types; (6) It was seen that wear resistance correlated with substrate hardness.

Concebido há milhares de anos, o forjamento passa por melhorias contínuas, mantendo-se como um processo de fabricação moderno, capaz de agregar características importantes a produtos forjados que são utilizados em inúmeras aplicações. Na indústria automobilística, responsável pelo consumo de cerca de 60% de todos os produtos forjados, o forjamento mostrou-se como um processo de conformação plástica eficaz no atendimento das especificações de resistência mecânica e nos quesitos de produtividade. Esta demanda por produtos forjados estimulou a busca por processos mais robustos, nos quais as ferramentas de forjamento possuem papel fundamental para possibilitar a produção de lotes maiores sem paradas de máquina devido a falhas. Cerca de 70% das falhas estão relacionadas ao desgaste das ferramentas. Este trabalho buscou identificar no ambiente industrial, os modos de desgaste responsáveis pela degradação da superfície de contato de um punção, fabricado em aço H-10. Um conjunto de punções foi utilizado no forjamento a quente em prensa mecânica excêntrica horizontal e automática de múltiplos estágios, que utiliza água na refrigeração das ferramentas, durante a fabricação de porcas de roda, em aço SAE 1045. Os resultados obtidos basearam-se: (i) nas análises da superfície e da seção transversal de seis punções em microscópio eletrônico de varredura, (ii) na análise da nanodureza e (iii) na variação dimensional e da massa dos punções. Os resultados apontaram para o desgaste da superfície dos punções logo nas primeiras peças forjadas devido à transferência de óxidos do blank para a superfície da ferramenta. Nesta camada transferida para a superfície dos punções, foram encontrados danos causados pelo desgaste abrasivo e pela fadiga térmica. / Since the initial development, thousands of years ago, forging has faced continuous improvements, remaining as a modern manufacturing process, capable of adding important characteristics to forged products that are used in numerous applications. In the automotive industry, responsible for the consumption of approximately 60% of all forged products, the forging has proved to be an effective metal forming process in terms of mechanical strength specifications and productivity requirements. This demand for forged parts has stimulated the search for more robust processes in which the forging tool has a fundamental role to enable the production of larger batches without downtime due to failures. Approximately 70% of these failures are related to tool wear. This work aimed identifying, in an industrial environmental, the wear modes responsible for the degradation of the contact surface of a punch, made of H-10 steel. A series of punches was used for hot forging in a horizontal and automatic multi-stage eccentric mechanical press which uses water for tool cooling, during the manufacture of wheel nuts, made of SAE 1045 steel. Results were based: (i) on the analysis of the surface and cross section of six punches in a scanning electronic microscope, (ii) on nanohardness analyses and (iii) as well as on mass and dimensional variations. Results pointed to the punch wear in the first forged pieces, due to oxides transferring from blank to the punch surface. On this transferred layer to punch surface, have also found damage caused by abrasive wear and thermal fatigue.

Wear transitions in the wheel–rail contact are of increasing interest since the general trend in railway traffic is toward increased velocities and axle loads. Curving increases the risk of flanging, causing the contact to change from an almost pure rolling wheel tread–rail head contact to more of a sliding wheel flange–rail gauge contact on the high rail in curves. Under wheel flange–rail gauge contact conditions, wear transitions to severe or catastrophic wear will occur if the contact is improperly lubricated. Such a transition is the most undesirable transition in the wheel–rail contact, as it represents a very expensive operating condition for railway companies. The contact conditions responsible for this transition are very severe as regards sliding velocity and contact pressure, and thus place high demands on both the lubricant and the wheel and rail materials. The focus of this thesis is on the transitions between different wear regimes in a wheel–rail contact. Wear is discussed both in traditional tribological terms and in terms of the categories used in the railway business, namely mild, severe and catastrophic wear. Most of the work was experimental and was performed at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Department of Machine Design. The effects of contact pressure, sliding velocity, and type of lubricant have been investigated, producing results that resemble those of other studies presented in the literature. The absence of research relating to the wheel flange–rail gauge contact is addressed, and it is concluded that a lubricant film must be present on rails in curves to prevent severe or catastrophic wear. The formulation of this lubricant can further increase its wear- and seizure-preventing properties. To obtain a deeper understanding of wear transitions, methods such as airborne particle measurement and electron microscopy have been used. Paper A presents the test methodology used to detect seizure and discusses the wear-reducing influence of free carbon in highly loaded contacts. Paper B presents the testing of seizure-initiating conditions for a range of environmentally adapted lubricants applied to wheel and rail materials; a transient pin-on-disc test methodology was used for the testing. Paper C presents the use of pin-on-disc methodology to study the wear-reducing effects of a wide range of lubricants. The best performing lubricant was a mineral oil containing EP and AW additives. Paper D relates wear rates and transitions to airborne particles generated by an experimentally simulated wheel–rail contact. The airborne particles generated varied in size distribution and amount with wear rate and mechanism. Paper E relates additional analysis techniques, such as FIB sectioning, ESCA analysis, airborne particle measurements, and SEM imaging of airborne wear particles, to the contact temperature. / QC 20100721 / Samba 6

<p>Numerical procedures for reliable wheel and rail wear prediction are rare. Recent development of simulation techniques and computer power together with tribological knowledge do however suggest computer aided wear prediction as possible. The present objective is to devise a numerical procedure able to simulate profile evolution due to uniform wear sufficiently accurate for application to vehicle dynamics simulation. Such a tool should be useful for maintenance planning, optimisation of the railway system and its components as well as trouble-shooting. More specifically, the field of application may include estimation of reprofiling frequency, optimisation of wheel – rail profile match, optimisation of running gear suspension parameters, and recognition of unfavourable profile evolution influencing the dynamic response of the vehicle.</p><p>The research contribution accounted for in this thesis includes, besides a literature review, modelling of the wheel – rail interface, benchmarking against traditional methods, and validation with respect to full-scale measurements.</p><p>The first part addresses wheel – rail contact conditions in the context of wear simulation as well as tribological environment and tractive forces. The current approach includes Archard’s wear model with associated wear maps, vehicle dynamics simulation, and railway network definition. One objective is to be able to include variations in operation conditions in the set of simulations instead of using scaling factors. In particular the influence of disc braking and varying lubrication conditions have been investigated. Both environmental factors like moist and contamination and deliberate lubrication need to be considered. As part of the associated contact analysis the influence of tangential elastic deformation of the contacting surfaces has been investigated and found to be essential in case of partial slip contact conditions. The influence on the calculated wear of replacing the Hertzian contact by a non-elliptic semi-Hertzian method has been investigated, showing relocation of material loss towards increased profile curvature.</p><p>In the second part comparisons have been carried out with traditional methods, where the material loss is assumed to be directly related to the energy dissipated in the contact. Attention has been paid to the understanding of the principle differences between the investigated methods, comparing the distribution of friction energy, sliding velocity, and wear depth. As a prerequisite, contact conditions with dependence on wheelset guidance and curving performance as well as influence of tractive forces have been investigated.</p><p>In the final part validation of the developments related to wheel wear simulation is addressed. Disc braking has been included and a wear map for moist contact conditions based on recent tests has been drafted. Good agreement with measurements from the reference operation, is achieved. Further a procedure for simulation of rail wear and corresponding profile evolution has been formulated. A simulation set is selected defining the vehicles running on the track to be investigated, their operating conditions, and contact parameters. Trial calculations of a few curves show qualitatively good results in terms of profile shape development and difference in wear mechanisms between gauge corner and rail head. The wear rates related to traffic tonnage are however overestimated. The impact of the model improvements accounted for in the first part of the thesis has been investigated, indicating directions for further development.</p>