<p>Metal forming is widely used in the industry to produce cans, tubes, car chassis, rods, wires etc. Forming certain materials such as stainless steel, aluminium and titanium, is often difficult, and problems associated with transfer of work material to the tool material are frequent. Transferred material may scratch and deform the following manufactured pieces, a phenomenon named galling. Lubricants can, to some degree, solve these problems. However, many forming oils are hazardous to the environment, and therefore it is highly desirable to replace them or get rid of them.</p><p>This thesis investigates the nature of the galling phenomenon and tries to explain under which conditions such problems arise. Dry sliding tests have been performed in a dedicated load-scanner equipment. Difficult work materials have been tested against tool materials under various conditions and the samples have then been studied by advanced analytical techniques, such as ESCA and TEM, to study the detailed tribological mechanisms occurring in the contact between work and tool material.</p><p>The general assumption is that material transfer only occurs when there is metal to metal contact. In this work it has been found that, for stainless steel, the oxide plays a very important role for the sticky behaviour of stainless steel, and that metal to metal contact is not a necessary condition for galling.</p><p>Several PVD-coated tool materials have been tested and it was found that vanadium nitride coatings can be tuned regarding their chemical composition, to be more galling resistant than conventional coatings.</p><p>The surface roughness of the tool material is very strongly coupled to the tools ability to resist galling. The smoother the tool surface, the less risk of material transfer and galling.</p><p>Some work materials, like aluminium and titanium, transfer to even the smoothest tool materials. A proposed explanation for this is that their oxides are much harder than the bulk material and the tool material matrix. When deforming the work material, the oxide will fracture into small hard scales, which can indent the tool material. Indented hard scales will then contribute to material transfer of more work material to the tool.</p>

Metal forming is widely used in the industry to produce cans, tubes, car chassis, rods, wires etc. Forming certain materials such as stainless steel, aluminium and titanium, is often difficult, and problems associated with transfer of work material to the tool material are frequent. Transferred material may scratch and deform the following manufactured pieces, a phenomenon named galling. Lubricants can, to some degree, solve these problems. However, many forming oils are hazardous to the environment, and therefore it is highly desirable to replace them or get rid of them. This thesis investigates the nature of the galling phenomenon and tries to explain under which conditions such problems arise. Dry sliding tests have been performed in a dedicated load-scanner equipment. Difficult work materials have been tested against tool materials under various conditions and the samples have then been studied by advanced analytical techniques, such as ESCA and TEM, to study the detailed tribological mechanisms occurring in the contact between work and tool material. The general assumption is that material transfer only occurs when there is metal to metal contact. In this work it has been found that, for stainless steel, the oxide plays a very important role for the sticky behaviour of stainless steel, and that metal to metal contact is not a necessary condition for galling. Several PVD-coated tool materials have been tested and it was found that vanadium nitride coatings can be tuned regarding their chemical composition, to be more galling resistant than conventional coatings. The surface roughness of the tool material is very strongly coupled to the tools ability to resist galling. The smoother the tool surface, the less risk of material transfer and galling. Some work materials, like aluminium and titanium, transfer to even the smoothest tool materials. A proposed explanation for this is that their oxides are much harder than the bulk material and the tool material matrix. When deforming the work material, the oxide will fracture into small hard scales, which can indent the tool material. Indented hard scales will then contribute to material transfer of more work material to the tool.

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.

Friction and wear have been observed m mechanical systems when there is a relative motion between two solid bodies Friction mainly results in loss of energy and wear results in matenal loss The proper understanding of friction and wear mechanisms provides practical solutions to tribological related problems Various models are available m tribology literature to calculate function coefficient and wear rate of matenals However, expenments suggest that these models are incomplete and fortuitous as the tnbological response is system dependent The objective of present investigation is to understand the tribological lesponse of commercially puie titanium and OFHC copper pins sliding on polyciystallme alumina discs Di\ shdm% tests were conducted in air, and vacuum (1 5 x 10~2Pa) at room tempeiatuie under different experimental conditions The normal load was vaned from 15 3 N to 76 0 N, sliding speed was vaned from 0 01 ms"1 to 1 4 ms"1, and tempeiatuie was varied from 293 K to 793 K It is found that the haidness of metals do not have any effect on their tribological response The experimental obseivations indicate that tribological response of metals mainly depends up on miciostructural evolution, oxygen activity and relative shear strength of metals and ceramics Chapter 1 starts with the background and concepts of tribology A brief literature survey is given with published work in relation with the present work In Chapter 2, the experimental proceduies of the dry sliding test and compression test are given Chapter 3 explains the tribological response of titanium during shdmg against alumina Different wear mechanisms such as oxidation, deformation and adhesion were identified Deformation wear mechanism is explained using strain rate response approach Chapter 4 explains the tribological response of copper during sliding against alumina The influence of environment and microstructural evolution on its tribological behavior are studied Chaptei 5 explains the dependence of tribological response of metals on micro structural evolution, oxygen activity and relative shear strength of metals and ceramics This thesis ends with the conclusions of the present investigation

Ceramic metal composites, or cermets, currently have widespread applications in the chemical, automotive and oil and gas sectors, due to their combination of high wear resistance, and aqueous corrosion resistance. In the present study, a family of novel titanium carbide (TiC)-stainless steel cermets has been produced as potential materials for use as erosion and corrosion resistant materials. The development of the TiC-stainless steel cermets is based on a simple melt infiltration technique, with the stainless steel “binder” contents varied from 5 to 30 vol.%, using the austenitic grades 304L and 316L, and the martensitic grade 410L. These materials have subsequently been evaluated for their wear and corrosion response, as well as characterisation of their basic mechanical properties and microstructure. Results from wear and corrosion studies show an improvement in wear and corrosion resistance of the cermets at lower steel binder content . / The original abstract from thesis is below. Ceramic metal composites, or cermets, currently have widespread applications in the chemical, automotive and oil and gas sectors, due to their combination of high wear resistance, and aqueous corrosion resistance. In the present study, a family of novel titanium carbide (TiC)-stainless steel cermets has been produced as potential materials for use as erosion and corrosion resistant materials. The development of the TiC-stainless steel cermets is based on a simple melt infiltration technique, with the stainless steel “binder” contents varied from 5 to 30 vol.%, using the austenitic grades 304L and 316L, and the martensitic grade 410L. These materials have subsequently been evaluated for their wear and corrosion response, as well as characterisation of their basic mechanical properties and microstructure. Reciprocating wear tests involved a ball-on-flat geometry (using a WC-Co counter face sphere), with loads varied from 20 to 80 N, for up to 120 minutes. The wear tracks were assessed using a high-resolution optical profilometer, in order to determine the wear volume. The specific wear rate of the cermets was found to increase with both the applied load and the steel binder content. To investigate the morphology of worn surfaces, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and associated energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used, in order to fully understand the operative wear mechanisms. A transition from two- to three-body abrasive wear was observed, together with the formation of a oxygen-rich tribolayer, indicating that adhesive wear was also occurring on the cermets. In order to assess the electrochemical behaviour of the cermets in a simulated seawater environment, the samples were evaluated using potentiodynamic, cyclic and potentiostatic polarisation tests, with basic corrosion parameters and rates subsequently determined through Tafel extrapolation and weight loss measurement. Each stage of electrochemical assessment was then evaluated by characterising the corroded surfaces and solution using SEM, EDS and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Microstructural observations using SEM images revealed significant degradation of the samples, with steel binder preferentially dissolved while TiC remained relatively unaffected. The corrosion rate of the cermets increases with steel binder content, which is attributed to the preferential dissolution of the binder.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has revolutionized manufacturing processes by enabling the realization of custom products with intricate geometric features that were either too complex or even intractable for subtractive manufacturing processes. Yet, functional surfaces generated in AM have to be often finish machined because of their relatively inferior roughness. The first phase of this research worked around this limitation by tailoring the topography of an AM surface in-process to entail textures that further enhance certain functionalities in a process called Additive Texturing (AT). In this context, the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process ability to realize intricate surface microfeatures was explored experimentally, evaluating its geometrical limitations. Utilizing such limitations, various patterns comprising pillars, channels, and re-entrant structures were printed to control the wetting behaviour of SLM stainless steel. AT's efficacy is demonstrated in its capability to generate hydrophobic AM surfaces with water contact angles exceeding 140°. Similarly, other texturing patterns comprising dimples, linear, V-shaped, and X-shaped grooves were investigated to tailor the tribological response of textured surfaces under dry sliding conditions. Evidently, a specific wear rate and coefficient of friction reduction of 80% and 60%, respectively, demonstrated another potential for AT. The undesirable tensile Residual Stresses (RS) that inevitably accumulate during the SLM process's rapid heating and cooling cycles were investigated in the second phase of this research. Laser Peening (LP) was utilized to post-process the printed samples to eliminate the initial tensile RS and induce near 500 Mpa compressive RS. Moreover, the LP parameters were explored and optimized to enhance RS, surface roughness, hardness, and wear resistance. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The tribological properties of cold sprayed Ni-WC metal matrix composite (MMC) coatings were investigated under dry sliding conditions from room temperature (RT) up to 400°C, and during thermal cycling to explore their temperature adaptive friction and wear behavior. Characterization of worn surfaces was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Raman spectroscopy to determine the chemical and microstructural evolution during friction testing. Data provided insights into tribo-oxide formation mechanisms controlling friction and wear. It was determined that the steady-state coefficient of friction (CoF) decreased from 0.41 at RT to 0.32 at 400˚C, while the wear rate increased from 0.5×10-4 mm3/N·m at RT to 3.7×10-4 mm3/N·m at 400˚C. The friction reduction is attributed primarily to the tribochemical formation of lubricious NiO on both the wear track and transfer film adhered to the counterface. The increase in wear is attributed to a combination of thermal softening of the coating and a change in the wear mechanism from adhesive to more abrasive. In addition, the coating exhibited low friction behavior during thermal cycling by restoring the lubricious NiO phase inside the wear track at high temperature intervals. Therefore, cold sprayed Ni-WC coatings are potential candidates for elevated temperature and thermally self-adaptive sliding wear applications.

We have extended the HOLA molecular dynamics (MD) code to run slider-on-block friction experiments for Al and Cu. Both objects are allowed to evolve freely and show marked deformation despite the hardness difference. We recover realistic coefficients of friction and verify the importance of cold-welding and plastic deformations in dry sliding friction. Our first data also show a mechanism for decoupling between load and friction at high velocities. Such a mechanism can explain an increase in the coefficient of friction of metals with velocity. The study of the effects of currents on our system required the development of a suitable electrodynamic (ED) solver, as the disparity of MD and ED time scales threatened the efficiency of our code. Our first simulations combining ED and MD are presented. / text

The main motivation of this doctoral thesis is to extend the current knowledge about the tribological behavior of a precipitation-hardenable (PH) austenitic stainless steel (SAE XEV-F or DIN 1.4882), used for manufacturing exhaust valves for internal combustion engines in passenger cars. For this purpose, dry sliding laboratory tests were carried out using this steel and other steels, mainly austenitic and martensitic, used as model materials for the comparative characterization of wear and friction. Experimental tests were conducted using an SRV®4 tribometer in a ball-on-disc configuration with reciprocating movement, in which the discs were the samples and the balls the counter-bodies. Four kinds of steels were tested: a) AISI 310, b) SAE XEV-F, c) AISI H13, and d) Nitrided SAE XEV-F. The ball was made of AISI 52100 bearing steel. The tests were conducted at room temperature and fixed conditions of time (sliding distance) (up to 73.2 m), load (100 N), frequency (10 Hz) and stroke (2mm). Wear was evaluated by means of mass loss in the disc and the ball, and post examination of the worn surfaces. Post examination was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), coherence correlation interferometry (CCI), and X-Ray diffraction (XRD). Wear debris resulting from tribological interaction were also investigated using SEM and XRD. Additionally, the friction coefficient was measured. High speed filming and interrupted tests were also performed at specific sliding distances. This work reports a severe-to-mild wear transition occurring during the first stage of tribological interaction (running-in) and its relation to the load distribution variation at the interface throughout the tribological tests. The wear transition was observed in different steel-on-steel tribosystems in ball-on-disc contact configuration and occurred due to the combined effects of two factors: a) the contact pressure reduction, due to the increase of nominal contact area caused by wear; and b) subsurface strain hardening (when relevant). The pressure/distance variation was determined experimentally and modeled empirically. Subsurface strain hardening was observable (and measurable) mainly the austenitic steels. Significant differences in wear (and friction) were observed between homogeneous (monophasic) steels and the heterogeneous (multiphasic) SAE XEV-F valve steel. Wear in the homogeneous steels presented an inverse correlation with hardness. Wear on the AISI 310 presented non-linear wear rates for a significant portion of the test. Wear on the SAE XEV-F valve steel was pronounced (even in the mild regime) due to a combined effect of two factors: a) formation of hard debris, which induced an abrasive component to wear by relative sliding, and b) subsurface NbC fracture, which markedly affected the material removal due to plastic deformation in the surrounding matrix. Wear of the nitrided SAE XEV-F steel was lower than that of the non-nitrided samples by nearly two orders of magnitude. The benefits of nitriding in the SAE XEV-F were two-fold: a) an increased surface hardness, and b) the prevention of NbC fracture and detachment, which results in even higher wear resistance. / A principal motivação desta tese é ampliar o conhecimento atual sobre o comportamento tribológico de um aço inoxidável austenítico endurecível por precipitação (PH), o SAE XEV-F (ou DIN 1.4882), utilizado para a fabricação de válvulas de exaustão de motores de combustão interna para carros de passageiros. Para este propósito, foram realizados ensaios laboratoriais de deslizamento a seco usando este aço e outros, principalmente aços austeníticos e martensíticos, usados como materiais modelo para a caracterização comparativa do desgaste e do atrito. Os ensaios experimentais foram conduzidos usando um tribômetro SRV®4 em uma configuração esfera-disco com movimento alternado, em que os discos foram as amostras e as esferas são os contracorpos. Foram ensaiados quatro tipos de aços: a) AISI 310, b) SAE XEV-F, c) AISI H13, e d) SAE XEV-F nitretado. A esfera era feita de aço para rolamento AISI 52100. Os ensaios foram realizados a temperatura ambiente e usando condições fixas de tempo (distância total percorrida até 73.2 m), carga normal (100 N), frequência (10 Hz) e amplitude da oscilação (2 mm). O desgaste foi avaliado por meio de perda de massa, tanto do disco quanto da esfera, e exame das superfícies desgastadas utilizando microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), interferometria de correlação de coerência (ICC) e difração de raios-X (DRX). Os debris de desgaste resultantes da interação tribológica também foram investigados usando MEV e DRX. Adicionalmente, a evolução do coeficiente de atrito foi analisada. Também foram realizadas filmagens de alta velocidade e ensaios interrompidos em tempos de deslizamento específicos. Este trabalho reporta uma transição de desgaste severo para moderado que ocorre durante as a primeira fase da interação tribológica (running-in) e sua relação com a variação da carga na interface durante os ensaios tribológicos. A transição de desgaste foi observada em diferentes tribo-sistemas de aço-contra-aço na configuração esfera-plano e ocorreu principalmente por efeitos combinados de dois fatores: a) a redução da pressão de contato, devida ao aumento da área nominal causada pelo desgaste; e b) o encruamento subsuperficial (quando relevante). A variação pressão/distância foi determinada experimentalmente e modelada empiricamente. Encruamento por deformação subsuperficial foi observável (e medível) principalmente nos aços austeníticos. Foram observadas diferenças significativas no desgaste (e atrito) entre os aços homogêneos (monofásicos) e o aço de válvula SAE XEV-F, heterogêneo (multifásico). O desgaste nos aços homogêneos apresentou uma correlação inversa com a dureza. O desgaste no aço válvula SAE XEV-F foi pronunciado (mesmo no regime de desgaste moderado) devido a um efeito combinado de dois fatores: a) a formação de debris duros, o que induziu uma componente abrasiva ao desgaste por deslizamento relativo, e b) a fratura subsuperficial do NbC, o que afetou significativamente a remoção de material devida à deformação plástica da matriz. O desgaste do aço nitretado SAE XEV-F foi menor que o das amostras não tratadas em quase duas ordens de grandeza. Os benefícios da nitretação no aço válvula SAE XEV-F foram dois: a) o aumento da dureza da superfície, e b) a prevenção da fratura e desprendimento de NbC, o que resulta em uma resistência de desgaste ainda maior.

Para transmitir o torque gerado pelo motor de combustão interna para a caixa de transmissão por meio da embreagem, seja em automóveis ou caminhões, é necessário que haja contato por deslizamento entre um material polimérico multifásico e um contracorpo metálico de ferro fundido cinzento. Além disso, os níveis do coeficiente de atrito entre esses materiais têem que ser suficientemente alto e estável, para proporcionar uma transmissão de torque regular e eficiente. Porém, durante o deslizamento, materiais são transferidos de uma superfície para outra, e alterações microestruturais e fisico-químicas ocorrem. Como consequência, uma nova superfície (denominada de tribofilme) se desenvolve, influenciando o desempenho funcional da embreagem. Dessa forma, compreender as suas características tem se tornado essencial para desenvolver sistemas de embreagens cada vez mais eficientes. No entanto, muitos ensaios são necessários para que se possa entender como uma ou várias matérias primas se comportam em relação aos aspectos tribológicos. Isso faz com que surja a necessidade de repetir os ensaios inúmeras vezes, para que se façam as escolhas mais assertivas tanto das matérias primas quanto dos processos envolvidos. Como alternativa, para reduzir tempo e custos, e ter um maior controle sobre as variáveis de ensaio, busca-se simular em laboratório, com equipamentos mais simples, a reprodução das interações tribológicas em condições reais. A primeira fase deste trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar os mecanismos de desenvolvimento do tribofilme para três níveis de severidade em condições reais de aplicação (ensaios mais demorados, complexos e mais caros, devido à necessidade da confecção completa dos protótipos), e posteriormente correlacionar esses mecanismos com os que foram simulados por meio de ensaios conduzidos num tribômetro de laboratório do tipo pino-disco (ensaios mais rápidos e mais simples, consequentemente menos complexos), variando o PV de 3,08 até 11,08 MPa ms-1. Foi constatado que as características do tribofilme dependem da severidade da aplicação. Além do que, o tribômetro pino-disco (amostra de 13 mm de diâmetro externo) consegue reproduzir os mecanismos identificados em campo, pois houve paridade na transferência das características do tribossistema do modelo de ensaio para o da condição real (430 mm de diâmetro externo). Na segunda fase, diferentes séries de ensaios tribométricos foram realizadas para investigar a influência do tribossistema no desempenho funcional do par tribológico (atrito e desgaste). Para os ensaios tradicionais, foi constatada um aumento na taxa de desgaste para temperaturas superiores a 250°C, revelando uma transição no regime moderado de desgaste para o severo. Quando os debris de desgaste foram removidos do meio interfacial, o nível do coeficiente de atrito aumentou e a taxa de desgaste reduziu. Já a adição de debris de desgaste ao meio interfacial contribuiu para aumentar a taxa de desgaste e reduzir drasticamente o nível do coeficiente de atrito. No entanto, quando os ensaios foram realizados empregando discos pré-condicionados, a taxa de desgaste e o nível do coeficiente de atrito foram otimizados, principalmente em níveis de severidade mais elevados (PV 10,09 MPa ms-1) indicando potencial ganho na eficiência do sistema embreagem. / Torque from an internal combustion-engine to a gear box, either in automobiles or trucks, is transmitted by a clutch system. In order to transmit torque from one side to the other, sliding contact between a multiphase friction material and a gray iron rotor is necessary. Torque transmission depends on the friction level among the tribological couples, and it have to be relatively high and most importantly stable to allow an efficient and regular performance. During the sliding between the coupling surfaces, material is transferred from one surface to the other causing microstructure and chemical changes. As consequence, a new surface, also known as tribofilm, is developed. This surface governs the clutch system performance and understanding the tribofilm characteristics is very important to improve the development of efficient clutch systems. For this, a large number of tests are necessary to understand the tribological behavior of the raw materials. Such investigation is highly empirical and in order to have a consistent data it\'s necessary to carry out several friction tests repetitions. Alternatively, to save time and money, and have better control over the test variables, the real tribological interactions can be simulated in laboratory by using simple equipment, pin-on-disc tribometer. The simplicity of this device allows evaluating a larger number of alternative materials. The first part of this work aims to investigate the tribofilm development mechanisms in three severity levels on the field application (those tests are more time-consuming, complex and expensive, because it is necessary to produce the entire prototype), and then correlate these mechanisms with those simulated in a pin-on-disc tribometer (faster and simpler test) by changing the PV level from 3.08 to 11.08 MPa ms-1. It was found that the tribofilm characteristics depend on the severity of application. In addition, the pin-on-disc tribometer (sample of 13 mm outside diameter) can reproduce the same mechanisms that were identified on the field, due to the parity between the tribosystem characteristics of test model and field condition (430 mm external diameter). In the second part of this work, different series of tribometer tests were performed to investigate the influences of tribosystem on tribological couple performance (friction and wear). Standard tribometer tests presented an increasing in the wear rate at temperatures of 250°C, revealing a transition from moderate to severe wear regime. When wear debris were removed from the interfacial contact, the friction coefficient level increased and wear rate reduced. On the other hand, when the wear debris were added, it contributed to increase the wear rate and to reduce the friction level dramatically. However, when the experiments were performed by using pre-conditioned discs, the wear rate and friction coefficient level has been optimized, particularly at higher severity levels (PV 10.09 MPa ms-1).