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. 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. 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. 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. 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. / QC 20110124

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.

Hard anodising on aluminium and its alloys has been widely practised for many years in order to improve the resistance of the otherwise poor wear characteristics of aluminium. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in other treatments and coatings, on both aluminium and other base metals. The aim of this investigation is to explain the tribological performance and wear mechanism(s) of an uncoated aluminium alloy, four anodic coated alloys, and also an electroless nickel alloy. All of the coatings are produced on three different aluminium alloys. The thickness of the anodic films is 30-35 micron, as this thickness falls within the range commonly used by industry. In an endeavour to explain the role of coating thickness on wear life, electroless nickel alloy has been produced in a range of thicknesses of 10, 20 and 30 micron. To evaluate abrasive and adhesive wear, the samples were rubbed against a single point diamond and steel ball, respectively, in a reciprocating movement at room temperature and 65-75% relative humidity, under a wide range of load and sliding distance. Some tests continued to run until a breakdown of the coatings occurred, whilst other tests were interrupted at intermediate stages. This enabled the initiation and propagation of failure mechanisms to be studied. Abrasive wear was performed under dry conditions, whereas, adhesive wear was evaluated under both dry and lubricated conditions. Wear of these coatings was proportional to the applied load and sliding distance, but there was no direct relationship between wear and hardness. The tribological performance of these coatings appears to be dictated by a) the composition of the substrate, b) the chemical and physical nature of the coatings and c) the test conditions. Under boundary lubricated conditions there was a considerable increase in the wear life of the coatings. A three dimensional surface texture is superior to a machined surface, in controlling contact conditions. There is an approximate linear relationship between coating thickness and wear life for electroless nickel alloys. These coatings predominantly fail by adhesion, plastic deformation and brittle fracture. A microscopic model for fracture of brittle materials, under both static and dynamic conditions for abrasive and adhesive wear correlates very well with the behaviour of these coatings. Analytical interpretation of adhesive wear was made by separately calculating the coefficient of wear "K" of the counterbodies. This information enables an improved understanding of the wear test itself to be added to the model of the wear mechanisms involved.

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.

The concrete mixer industry is affected by abrasive wear under both dry and wet conditions. An upgrade of the material inside the drums to high abrasion resistant steel grades can improve the lifetime and offer the possibility to reduce the weight of the drum. A new wear testing apparatus was designed to simulate the wear conditions in a concrete mixer truck with the aim to investigate the relative wear resistance for a number of steel grades. Three tests were performed under wet conditions using 16-25 mm crushed granite. The tests focused on the wear resistance under sliding and impact wear for 30 different steel grades. All of the steel grades were analyzed regarding hardness profile, microstructure and chemical composition prior to testing. Wear losses were investigated by weighing before, during and after testing. Hardness profile and SEM investigations were performed at Swerea Kimab on worn surface and cross-section after testing. Relationship between hardness and wear resistance was found over a certain hardness level. Higher hardness show better wear resistance for this type of application. The shape and degradation of abrasives were found to affect the wear rate. / Betongblandare är en applikation som är utsatt för ett abrasivt slitage under både torra och våta miljöer. Genom att uppgradera materialet inuti trumman till ett slitstarkt stål kan livslängden förlängas och vikten på trumman reduceras. En ny testutrustning utformades för att simulera slitaget och miljöerna inuti en betongbil. Slitstyrkan undersöktes genom att mäta det relativa slitaget för totalt 30 stycken stålsorter. Tre stycken slitagetester genomfördes med en blandning av krossad granit, av storleken 16-25 mm, och vatten. Testerna fokuserade på att simulera både ett glidande slitage och ett lätt stötslitage. Innan testet påbörjades analyserades samtliga stålsorter med avseende på hårdhetsprofilen, mikrostrukturen och kemisk sammansättning. Materialförlusten undersöktes genom vägning före testet, under testet och efter testet. Efter testet analyserades provernas slityta i SEM och hårdheten i tvärsnittet på Swerea Kimab. Ett samband mellan hårdhet och slitstyrka kunde ses över en viss hårdhetsnivå. Testerna visade att en högre hårdhet ger en bättre slitstyrka samt att formen och nötningen av de abrasiva materialet påverkade nötningshastigheten.

Viscoelastic materials have been used widely in different applications, such as constructing tires, artificial joints, shoe heels, and soles. A study on the different characteristics of viscoelastic materials has always been a matter of interest in order to improve their properties for various applications. In the automotive industry, rubber, as a viscoelastic material, has been used in several subsystems, such as vehicle interior, suspension, steering joints, and tires. The tire and terrain's contact characteristics are among the essential factors for assessing the performance of the tire and the vehicle in general. Friction and tread wear are two of these contact characteristics. Considering the tire's functionality, for most applications, it is desired to have higher friction to have better traction and a lower wear rate to minimize the material loss of the tread. The friction coefficient and the rubber's wear rate depend on various parameters such as rubber material properties, terrain characteristics, temperature (tread and the environment), and the load. To obtain the wear rate and friction of a viscoelastic material, three approaches have been used for this study: Experimental, Analytical, and Numerical. The results obtained using these approaches have been compared and validated. Several test setups have been designed and implemented to study the wear and friction of the rubber experimentally. Also, a new linear friction tester has been designed and manufactured by the author to achieve this project's objectives. The new test setup has several advantages over existing test setups in this field, such as covering a higher range of velocities while maintaining high precision. The designed Linear Friction tester and the modified dynamic friction tester at the CenTiRe laboratory at Virginia Tech were used to measure the rubber's friction and wear for different testing conditions such as different normal loads, different velocities, and various surfaces such asphalt and sandpaper. The data collected by the experiment will later be used for the validation of the developed models. In order to obtain the wear rate of the rubber using the analytical approach, the real contact area and friction of the rubber were calculated using Persson's model. The simulation has created the surface to obtain the friction coefficient and the real contact area. After obtaining the friction coefficient and the real contact area, the rubber's wear rate was calculated using a novel approach by combining the Persson Powdery Rubber Wear model with the Crack Propagation model. The results from the improved model compare well with the results from the original model. For the last step of this project, a Finite Element approach was used for modeling a tread block and round rubber sample. A new semi-empirical model for wear was developed by improving the Archard wear model. The novel approach was implemented to Abaqus by using the Umeshmotion subroutine and adaptive mesh motion (ALE) and subroutine UFric and UFric_Coef in two categories: The Node base method and the Ribbon base method. For finite element modeling, the visco-hyper elastic material model has been used to define the rubber's material properties. / Doctor of Philosophy / Viscoelastic materials have been used widely in different applications, such as constructing tires, artificial joints, shoe heels, and soles. Therefore, studying the different characteristics of viscoelastic materials has always been a matter of interest in improving their properties for various applications. In the automotive industry, rubber, as a viscoelastic material, has been used in several subsystems, such as vehicle interior, suspension, steering joints, and tires. The tire and terrain's contact characteristics are among the essential factors for assessing the performance of the tire and the vehicle in general. Friction and tread wear are two of these contact characteristics. Considering the tire's functionality, for most applications, it is desired to have higher friction to have better traction and a lower wear rate to minimize the material loss of the tread. This study used different approaches such as experimental, analytical, and numerical methods to predict the friction and wear of the rubber sample in contact with different surfaces. For the experimental parts, the author designed and manufactured a linear friction test setup. For the numerical parts, a new semi-empirical model was created to predict rubber samples' wear accurately.

Wear is a commonly occurring degradation mechanism for materials and components in the rock drilling industry. The wear can occur by either abrasion or adhesive wear. Further corrosion and presence of water or other lubricating fluids with or without particles may influence the behavior. Which mechanism, or mechanisms, and under which conditions it occurs, as well as the relative wear rate is dependent on the actual operating conditions for the component. In the present study, commonly available and general test methods for wear on high-alloy carbon steel has been analyzed. The project has been carried out through literature reviews and study visits at the tribology laboratory at KTH and at the Angstroms laboratory at Uppsala University. The present study indicates that it is difficult to suggest a feasible test method that is possible to use for all different situations of the wear that may occur. A test adapted to the actual situation is required to achieve a proper wear rate comparable to the wear rate in a real application.  According to the requirements from Ovako AB, a test that is general, cost effective and can be used when developing steel with higher wear-resistance, following wear testing methods has been compared: a pin-on-disk apparatus, a dry/wet sand/rubber wheel, a dry/wet sand/steel wheel, a tumbling mill, a particle erosion rig, a solid particle impingement using gas jets and a grinding machine. The tumbling mill, the grinder and the “Standard Test Method for Wear Testing with a Pin-On- Disk Apparatus” correspond to the requirements best. Ovako AB is recommended to continue the work with these testing methods. / Nötning är en vanlig mekanism som orsakar nedbrytning på material i gruvindustrin. Nötningen kan förekomma som abrasiv eller adhesiv nötning. Korrosion och närvaro av vatten eller andra smörjande vätskor med eller utan lösa partiklar kan påverka beteendet. Den eller de mekanismer som styr nötningen såväl som nötningstalet beror på de aktuella förhållanden vilka materialet eller materialen verkar i. I denna studie har en generell testmetod för att utvärdera nötning på höglegerat kolstål har undersökts. Arbetet har genomförts genom litteratursökning samt studiebesök vid tribologiska laboratoriet på KTH samt på Ångströmska i Uppsala. Utifrån arbetet har det visat sig att det inte förekommer några generella nötningstest för alla applikationer, då det krävs ett test som är anpassat efter verkligheten för att få ut korrekt nötningstal. Utifrån Ovako ABs önskemål om ett generellt test som är ekonomiskt hållbart samt kan användas för att utveckla nötningsbeständigheten i de stål där nötning förekommer har följande testmetoder jämförts: pinne/skiva-maskin, blött/torrt sand/gummihjul, blött/torrt sand/stålhjul, roterande trumma, ”Erofugen”, partikelsprutare och en slipmaskin. De test som motsvarar kravprofilen bäst är den roterande trumman, slipmaskinen samt den standardiserade pinne/skiva-maskinen. Utifrån dessa testmetoder rekommenderas Ovako AB att fortsätta arbetet.

Metal on metal wear at high sliding speeds and high contact pressures results in the melting of one or both of the sliding solid bodies due to heat generated at the contact interface. Understanding the influence of sliding speeds, contact pressures and material properties on wear rates is important in developing predictive models for designing more efficient and effective engineering system components. Typical engineering applications subjected to these extreme conditions include ultrahigh speed machining, rocket sleds, large caliber cannon, and electromagnetic launchers. Sliding speeds on the order of 1,000 m/s and contact pressures in excess of 100 MPa are common in these applications and difficult to replicate in a laboratory environment. A unique wedge experiment using a minor caliber electromagnetic launcher has been developed and implemented to characterize wear deposition of a 6061-T6 aluminum sliding body on several different guider materials of varying mechanical and thermal properties at sliding speeds from 0 – 1,200 m/s and contact pressures from 100 – 225 MPa. Optical microscopy and 3D profilometry were used to characterize and quantify the slider wear. Three distinct wear regions, plasticity dominated, severe plastic deformation and melt lubrication were observed. Test results provided evidence that the aluminum slider contact interface was molten. Modeling of the experimental wear data showed a dependence on pressure and velocity and guider material properties, density and specific heat. A predictive wear model was developed for the melt lubrication region as a tool for designing components subjected to similar operating conditions.

<p>Numerical procedures for reliable wheel and rail wearprediction are rare. Recent development of simulationtechniques and computer power together with tribologicalknowledge do however suggest computer aided wear prediction.The objective of the related research field at the RoyalInstitute of Technology (KTH) is to arrive at a numericalprocedure able to simulate profile evolution due to uniformwear to a degree of accuracy sufficient for application tovehicle dynamics simulation. Such a tool would be useful formaintenance planning as well as optimisation of the transportsystem and its components.</p><p>The research contribution accounted for in this thesisincludes, in addition to a literature review, refinement ofmethods applied to uniform wheel wear simulation by inclusionof braking and improvement of the contact model. Further atentative application to uniform rail wheel simulation has beenproposed and tested.</p><p>The first part addresses issues related to braking andwheel-rail contact conditions in the context of wheel wearsimulation. The KTH approach includes Archard’s wear modelwith associated wear maps, vehicle dynamics simulation andrailway network definition. In previous work at KTH certainvariations in operating conditions have been accounted forthrough empirically estimated average scaling factors. Theobjective of the current research is to be able to include suchvariations in the set of simulations. In particular theinfluence of disc braking and varying friction and lubricationconditions are investigated. Both environmental factors likemoist and contamination and deliberate lubrication need to beconsidered. As part of the associated contact analysis theinfluence of tangential elastic deformation of the contactingsurfaces on the sliding velocity has been separatelyinvestigated and found to be essential in case of partial slipcontact conditions.</p><p>In the second part validation of the improvements related towheel wear simulation is addressed. Disc braking has beenincluded in the simulation set and a wear map for moist contactconditions based on recent tribometer tests has been draftedand tested. It has been shown that the previously used brakingfactor accounts for the combination of the contributions fromsurface elasticity and braking. Good agreement withmeasurements from the Stockholm commuter service is achieved.It is concluded that the model improvements accounted for aresufficient for adequate simulation of tread wear but thatfurther development of the flange / gauge corner contactmodelling may be needed.</p><p>In the final part a procedure for simulation of rail wearand corresponding profile evolution has been formulated. Asimulation set is selected defining the vehicles running on thetrack to be investigated, their operating conditions, andcontact parameters. Several variations of input data may beincluded together with the corresponding occurrenceprobability. Trial calculations of four non-lubricated curveswith radii from 303 m to 802 m show qualitatively reasonableresults in terms of profile shape development and difference inwear mechanisms between gauge corner and rail head. The wearrates related to traffic tonnage are however overestimated. Itis believed that model refinements in terms of environmentalinfluence and contact stress calculation are useful to improvethe quantitative results.</p> / QC 20100531

WEAR ANALYSIS OF HOT FORGING DIES ABACHI, Siamak M. S., Department of Mechanical Engineering Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Metin AKK&Ouml / K Co-Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Mustafa lhan G&Ouml / KLER December 2004, 94 pages The service lives of dies in forging processes are to a large extent limited by wear, fatigue fracture and plastic deformation, etc. In hot forging processes, wear is the predominant factor in the operating lives of dies. In this study, the wear analysis of a closed die at the final stage of a hot forging process has been realized. The preform geometry of the part to be forged was measured by Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM), and the CAD model of the die and the worn die were provided by the particular forging company. The hot forging operation was carried out at a workpiece temperature of 1100&deg / C and die temperature of 300&deg / C for a batch of 678 on a 1600-ton mechanical press. The die and the workpiece materials were AISI L6 tool steel and DIN 1.4021, respectively. The simulation of forging process for the die and the workpiece was carried out by Finite Volume Method using MSC.SuperForge. The flow of the material in the die, die filling, contact pressure distribution, sliding velocities and temperature distribution of the die have been investigated. In a single stroke, the depth of wear was evaluated using Archard&rsquo / s wear equation with a constant wear coefficient of 1&yen / 10-12 Pa-1 as an initial value. The depth of wear on the die surface in every step has been evaluated using the Finite Volume simulation results and then the total depth of wear was determined. To be able to compare the wear analysis results with the experimental worn die, the surface measurement of the worn die has been done on CMM. By comparing the numerical results of the die wear analysis with the worn die measurement, the dimensional wear coefficient has been evaluated for different points of the die surface and finally a value of dimensional wear coefficient is suggested. As a result, the wear coefficient was evaluated as 6.5&yen / 10-13 Pa-1 and considered as a good approximation to obtain the wear depth and the die life in hot forging processes under similar conditions.