Gegenstand dieser Arbeit ist die Bereitstellung eines geeigneten Simulationswerkzeuges für die numerische Untersuchung der beim Rollkontakt zwischen Rad und Schiene auftretenden Phänomene. Hierbei liegt das Hauptaugenmerk auf der kontinuumsmechanischen Formulierung des mechanischen Feldproblems kontaktierender Körper sowie dessen numerischer Lösung mittels der Finite-Element-Methode. Zur Reduzierung des bei der Simulation von Rollkontakt aus der notwendigen sehr feinen Diskretisierung der Kontaktgebiete resultierenden numerischen Aufwandes wird eine relativkinematische Beschreibung herangezogen. Diese gemischte LAGRANGE-EULER-Betrachtungsweise beruht auf der Zerlegung der Bewegung in einen Starrkörperanteil und eine dazu relative Deformation. Die Herleitung der Bewegungsgleichung für das Kontaktproblem erfordert die relativkinematische Formulierung der kontinuumsmechanischen Grundgleichungen, d.h. der Bilanzgleichungen sowie der konstitutiven Beziehungen. Eine geeignete Kontaktmechanik einschließlich der Berücksichtigung des Kontakts rauer Oberflächen und veränderlicher Kontaktrandbedingungen ist ebenfalls notwendig. Die physikalische Einbindung der Körper in die Umgebung erfolgt über NEUMANNsche und DIRICHLETsche Randbedingungen. Auf dieser Basis können die Bewegungsgleichungen der Elastomechanik hergeleitet werden, welche sich jedoch einer analytischen Lösung verschließen. Somit werden sie in ihrer schwachen Form im integralen Mittel formuliert, was der Anwendung des Prinzips der virtuellen Verschiebungen als Ausgangspunkt für die numerische Lösung entspricht. Die rechentechnische Umsetzung erfordert die inkrementelle und diskrete Formulierung der Bewegungsgleichungen unter besonderer Beachtung der Trägheits-und Kontaktterme, wobei auf die Unterscheidung zwischen Haften und Gleiten beim Tangentialkontakt besonderes Augenmerk gelegt wird. Die numerische Lösung des Finite-Element-Gleichungssystems liefert den aktuellen Beanspruchungszustand zweier Körper im Rollkontakt. Die Funktionsfähigkeit der entwickelten Algorithmen wird abschließend anhand aussagekräftiger Beispielrechnungen zum statischen Kontakt und zum stationären Rollkontakt demonstriert, deren Ergebnisse gute Übereinstimmung mit analytischen Vergleichslösungen, soweit verfügbar, aufweisen. / Scope of this work is the preparation of a suitable simulation tool for the numerical investigation of rolling contact phenomena. The main focus lies on the continuum–mechanical formulation of the mechanical field problem of contacting bodies and its numerical solution within the framework of the Finite Element Method. For reducing the numerical effort in rolling contact simulation, induced by the necessity of a very fine discretization within the expected contact area, a relative–kinematical description is utilized. This arbitrary LAGRANGian–EULERian approach is based upon the decomposition of the total motion into a rigid body motion and a superimposed deformation. The derivation of the equation of motion for the contact problem requires the relative–kinematical formulation of the continuum–mechanical fundamental equations, i. e. the balance equations and the constitutive relations. A suitable contact model including the contact of rough surfaces and varying contact boundary conditions is also necessary. The physical embedding into the environment is accomplished by NEUMANN and DIRICHLET boundary conditions. Based upon that foundation the elastomechanics’ equations of motion are derived, which however can not be solved analytically in general. Hence, the equations of motion are transferred into their weak form by the application of the principle of virtual displacements serving for the numerical solution. The implementation of the problem demands for an incremental and discrete formulation of the equations, especially regarding the terms of inertia and the contact terms. Thereby, special attention has to be paid to the distinction between sticking and sliding within the framework of the tangential contact analysis. The numerical solution of the finite elements’ system of equations provides the state of stress, displacement and contact of two bodies in rolling contact. The reliability of the developed algorithms is finally verified by means of meaningful numerical examples for both static contact and for stationary rolling contact, whereby the numerical results coincide well with available analytical reference solutions.

This dissertation aims to study the benefit of rail grinding on service life of railroad rails, focusing on failures due to rolling contact fatigue (RCF) at the rail head. Assuming a tangent rail with one-point contact at the running surface, a finite element analysis of a full-scale wheel-rail rolling contact with a nonlinear isotropic kinematic hardening material model is performed to simulate the accumulation of residual stresses and strains in the rail head. Using rolling stress and strain results from the sixth loading cycle, in which residual stresses and strains are at their steady-state, as input, two critical plane fatigue criteria are proposed for fatigue analyses. The first fatigue criterion is the stress-based approach—namely the Findley fatigue criterion. It suggests an important role of tensile residual stresses on subsurface crack nucleation and early growth in the rail head, but applications of the criterion to the near-running-surface region are limited because of plastic deformation from wheel-rail contact. The second fatigue criterion is the strain-based approach—namely the Fatemi-Socie fatigue criterion. Contributed mainly from shear strain amplitudes and factorized by normal stress components, the criterion also predicts fatigue crack nucleation at the subsurface as a possible failure mode as well as fatigue crack nucleation at the near-surface, while maintaining its validity in both regions. A collection of fatigue test data of various types of rail steel from literature is analyzed to determine a relationship between fatigue damages and number of cycles to failure. Considering a set of wheel loads with their corresponding number of rolling passage as a loading unit (LU), optimizations of grinding schedules with genetic algorithm (GA) show that fatigue life of rail increases by varying amount when compared against that from the no-grinding case. Results show that the proposed grinding schedules, optimized with the exploratory and local-search genetic algorithms, can increase fatigue life of rail by 240 percent. The optimization framework is designed to be able to determine a set of optimal grinding schedules for different types of rail steel and different contact configurations, i.e. two-point contact occurred when cornering.

La quête de minimisation du ratio poids-puissance, omniprésente dans l'industrie aéronautique, conduit à une plus grande souplesse structurelle des boîtes de transmission de puissance d'hélicoptères.Cette souplesse structurelle, associée aux sollicitations sévères mises en jeu, entraîne des déformations non négligeables des arbres et carters, et nuit naturellement à la tenue en service des roulements.S'il n’est pas maîtrisé, le désalignement des portées de roulements accroît fortement les efforts vus par la cage et peut conduire à sa rupture en fatigue.Le travail proposé s'intéresse à la modélisation du comportement dynamique des roulements de réducteurs aéronautiques et vise plus particulièrement à anticiper ce mode de ruine.Le modèle développé permet d'estimer les sollicitations de la cage en fonctionnement.Ces informations, précieuses aux ingénieurs, permettront de mieux maîtriser, et donc d'optimiser le processus de dimensionnement des roulements. / The quest for minimizing the power to weight ratio, omnipresent in the aircraft industry, has led to greater structural flexibility of helicopter gearboxes.This increasing flexibility combined with the severe loads which it involves, causes significant strains on shafts and housings, and may be detrimental to rolling bearing service life expectancy.An unchecked misalignment of bearing seats greatly increases cage stresses and it may cause its premature fatigue failure.The present work focuses on modeling the dynamic behavior of rolling bearings of aeronautical gearboxes and it specifically anticipates this failure mode.The model developed is able to estimate cage stresses in operation. This information is valuable to engineers, it allows a better control and thus an optimization of the rolling bearings design process.

Le dimensionnement en fatigue à grand nombre de cycles d'un contact roulant entre des éléments ayant subi un traitement thermochimique de cémentation s'avère rapidement complexe.D'une part le traitement de cémentation apporte une hétérogénéité de propriété dans les couches supérieures de la pièce qui dépend du protocole utilisé. D'autre part le chargement de contact roulant est un chargement complexe dont le mode de défaillance en fatigue s'initie en sous-couche.Afin de limiter le temps de la caractérisation des champs de propriétés en fatigue, l'utilisation des mesures d'auto-échauffement sous sollicitation cyclique ainsi que leur interprétation par un modèle probabiliste à deux échelles est proposé. Néanmoins de par l'hétérogénéité du matériau et de par la particularité du chargement il peut s'avérer délicat d'appliquer une telle méthode d'évaluation. ll est alors proposé d'explorer ces deux difficultés de manière séparé.Pour prendre en compte l'hétérogénéité matériaux, un protocole d'analyse de courbe d'auto-échauffement basé sur une variante d'un modèle probabiliste à deux échelles et sur les mesures de taux de carbone a été proposé. Les paramètres du modèle ont été identifiés sur une classe d'acier via des mesures d'auto-échauffement réalisées sur des éprouvettes représentatives de l'hétérogénéité du au traitement de cémentation. Enfin le modèle a été validé par comparaison avec des points de fatigue expérimentaux.En ce qui concerne le chargement de contact roulant, les difficultés pour réaliser une mesure d'auto-échauffement ont mené à effectuer une première campagne de mesure sur le cas intermédiaire du contact répété. A l'aide d'un modèle analytique simple, l'évolution du champ de température a pu être reliée à un terme source de chaleur moyen dont le lien avec les mécanismes de fatigue reste à démontrer. Finalement, des prototypes de machine de contact roulant dédiés aux mesures d'auto-échauffement ont été proposés. Les mesures réalisées sur ces dernières et leur interprétation laissent à penser qu'il sera possible d'identifier des propriétés de fatigue à partir de mesure d'auto-échauffement. / The rolling contact fatigue prediction between two carburizing part quickly becomes complex.On one hand, the carburizing treatment give heterogeneous properties in surface layer depending on the treatment protocol. On the other hand, the rolling contact load is a complex load with a fatigue initiation in the sub-layer. To limit the duration of the field fatigue properties characterization, self-heating measurements under cycle load are used and their interpretation by a probabilistic two scales model is proposed. Nevertheless applying this fatigue evaluation method on heterogeneous material and for rolling contact load can be difficult. ln first approach those difficulties are split.To take into account the material heterogeneity, an analysis based on a variation of one probabilistic two scales model and on carbon rate measurement is proposed. Model parameters are identified on one steel class with self-heating measurement made on specimens representative of carburizing material heterogeneity. Finally the model is validated by comparison with experimental fatigue point.Making self-heating measurement for rolling contact load is complex. Consequently a first self-heating measurement campaign is made on the intermediary case of repeated contact. With a simple analytic model, the temperature field evolution can be linked to a mean heat source whose link with fatigue mechanism must be proven. Finally, rolling contact machine prototypes are proposed. Self-heating measurement made on those prototypes and their interpretation suggest that it will be possible to identify fatigue properties with self-heating measurement.

Sous l’effet des sollicitations mécaniques répétées induites par les passages des trains, on observe l’apparition de fissures de fatigue de contact dans les rails. Une fois amorcées, celles-ci peuvent se propager et mener à la rupture du rail. Dans un contexte d’intensification du trafic et d’augmentation globale des vitesses de circulation, il devient stratégique pour SNCF d’optimiser sa politique de maintenance. Afin de définir des pas de surveillance adaptés et une planification optimisée des opérations de maintenance, une meilleure connaissance des mécanismes d’endommagement par fatigue du rail s’avère nécessaire. Tendre vers cette stratégie de maintenance prédictive passe par la mise en place d’outils de simulation numérique adaptés. Dans ce contexte, une chaîne d’outils a été développée : détermination des sollicitations transmises au rail, des champs de contraintes et de déformations résiduelles, localisation des zones critiques vis-à-vis du risque de fissuration. L’étape suivante consiste à estimer le risque lié à la présence de fissures et à étudier leurs propagations. Elle constitue une partie des objectifs de ces travaux de thèse. La résolution du problème tri-dimensionnel d’une structure fissurée, avec contact et frottement entre les lèvres, est effectuée grâce à un modèle tri-dimensionnel éléments finis étendus multi-échelles. Ce modèle fait appel à une formulation mixte stabilisée où chaque champ est écrit à l’aide d’enrichissement. La fissure est représentée grâce à une stratégie implicite-explicite. Le problème est résolu à l’aide du solveur non-linéaire LATIN. Une étude empirico-numérique a permis de proposer des formules a priori assurant à la méthode de résolution un taux de convergence proche de l’optimal. La simulation de la propagation des fissures de fatigue est réalisée à l’aide de critères spécifiques, adaptés à un chargement multi-axial et non-proportionnel, et d’une loi de propagation dédiée en mode mixte. La confrontation des résultats de simulation avec des essais réalisés sur une configuration cylindre-plan a validé la stratégie X-FEM/LATIN à deux échelles. Tous ces développements ont été implémentés dans le code de calcul éléments finis CAST3M. Des contraintes résiduelles réalistes, provenant d’un logiciel externe, ont été introduites. Cette étape a requis la mise en place d’une procédure de transfert des champs entre les deux maillages (celui utilisé pour le calcul des contraintes résiduelles et celui utilisé pour la résolution du problème de mécanique élastique linéaire de la rupture). L’étude de la flexion du rail a révelé l’influence de ce phénomène uniquement lors du passage du chargement sur la fissure.Enfin, une étude numérique a montré la très forte influence de l’orientation du chargement tangentiel, des contraintes résiduelles et de la présence de plusieurs fissures sur la direction et les vitesses de propagation des fissures de fatigue. / To optimize the rail grinding strategy, the prediction of crack growth rates has a vital role. Contact, with friction between the crack faces, notably occurs in rolling contact fatigue (RCF) problems. These time-dependent, multi-axial, non proportional loadings may lead to a crack initiation and propagation, and sometimes to the development of very complex 3D crack network. Numerical simulations of frictional fatigue crack are efficiently performed using the eXtended Finite Element Method (X-FEM). Within this method, the mesh does not need to conform to the crack geometry. Most difficulties associated to complex mesh generation around the crack and the re-meshing steps during the propagation are hence avoided. A 3D two-scale frictional contact fa-tigue crack model developed within the X-FEM framework is presented. It allows the use of a refined discretization of the crack interface independent from the underlying finite element mesh and adapted to the frictional contact crack scale. The model is used here to analyze the crack propagation, rate and direction, under rolling contact fatigue. The wheel-rail contact loading is modeled as a traveling hertzian load. The stress intensity factors are computed at the crack tips during the wheel passage. Criteria for determining crack growth direction under multiaxial non proportional conditions and mixed mode Paris’ law are used. Actual residual stresses are accounted for in the simulation. They are determined thanks to a dedicated model used at SNCF in which the asymptotic mechanical state of the rail is computed when submitted to cyclic loads. A non-uniform elastic-plastic stabilized state is calculated and introduced, by projection of the mechanical fields onto the finite element mesh, in the crack propagation simulation. All this strategy has been implemented in CAST3M and is now used to model 3D frictional crack growth under RCF.

Ce travail réalisé dans le cadre d'une collaboration industrielle avec la société ALSTOM Transport porte sur l'étude de la dégradation des voies ferrées urbaines. Les composantes de voie retenus pour cette étude sont le rail et la dalle de voie en béton. Concernant le rail, différents problèmes sont abordés : contact roue – rail, usure du rail, usure ondulatoire du rail, et fatigue de contact de roulement (RCF) du rail. Un outil numérique avec des interfaces graphiques, nommé CONUS, est développé pour le problème de contact roue – rail et le problème d'usure du rail. Des théories classiques (Hertz, Kalker, Archard, etc.) sont implantées dans cet outil. La méthode stationnaire est implantée dans un code de calcul par éléments finis pour étudier l'état asymptotique de l'acier du rail sous le chargement répété des trains. Ceci nous permet de prédire les régimes de RCF du rail. La mécanique de l'endommagement est utilisée pour prédire la fatigue du matériau béton. Le formalisme de Marigo couplé avec le modèle d'endommagement de Mazars permet de modéliser la dégradation progressive de la rigidité du matériau sous chargement cyclique. Une campagne d'essais de fatigue du béton en flexion a été réalisée. Elle a pour but de valider le modèle théorique et d'identifier les paramètres du matériau. Le dimensionnement d'une dalle de voie en béton a fait l'objet d'une application de cette méthode. Le modèle de réseau de poutres (lattice model) a été utilisé pour étudier la propagation des fissures dans les structures en béton. Ce modèle a été implanté dans le logiciel de calcul par éléments finis, CESAR-LCPC. Les résultats numériques (propagation de fissures) obtenus pour les structures simples sous chargement statique sont en tout point comparables avec les résultats d'essais expérimentaux. Ce modèle a ensuite été utilisé pour étudier la fissuration sous chargement de fatigue. Pour cela un modèle d'endommagement simple modélisant la dégradation des éléments «poutres» s'est avéré suffisant pour décrire la cinématique de propagation des fissures / This work is part of the collaboration between the laboratory Navier (UMR ENPC /IFSTTAR/ CNRS) and ALSTOM Transport company (TGS/Trackway). It focuses on the study of the degradation of urban railways. The components of track considered in this study are the rail and the concrete slab. Regarding the rail, different problems are discussed : wheel – rail contact, rail wear, rail corrugation and rolling contact fatigue (RCF). A numerical tool with graphical interfaces, called CONUS, is developed to predict the behaviour of the wheel - rail contact, the rail wear, and the rail corrugation problems. Classical theories (Hertz, Kalker, Archard, etc...) are implemented in this tool. The stationary method is implemented in a finite element software to study the asymptotic state of the rail steel under repeated loading of trains.The damage mechanics is used to predict the fatigue life of concrete. Marigo's formalism coupled with Mazars' damage model is used to predict the gradual degradation of material stiffness under cyclic loading. A campaign of fatigue tests for concrete in bending was conducted. It aims at validating the theoretical model and identifying material parameters. We applied this method in order to design the concrete slabs of urban railway. The lattice model was used to study the crack propagation in concrete structures. This model was implemented in the finite element software, CESAR-LCPC. The numerical results obtained for simple structures under static loading are consistent with the results of laboratory experiments. This model was then used to study the crack propagation under fatigue loading. For that purpose, a simple damage model of degradation of the "beams" elements describes the kinematics of crack propagation with a satisfying accuracy

Gegenstand dieser Arbeit ist die Bereitstellung eines geeigneten Simulationswerkzeuges für die numerische Untersuchung der beim Rollkontakt zwischen Rad und Schiene auftretenden Phänomene. Hierbei liegt das Hauptaugenmerk auf der kontinuumsmechanischen Formulierung des mechanischen Feldproblems kontaktierender Körper sowie dessen numerischer Lösung mittels der Finite-Element-Methode. Zur Reduzierung des bei der Simulation von Rollkontakt aus der notwendigen sehr feinen Diskretisierung der Kontaktgebiete resultierenden numerischen Aufwandes wird eine relativkinematische Beschreibung herangezogen. Diese gemischte LAGRANGE-EULER-Betrachtungsweise beruht auf der Zerlegung der Bewegung in einen Starrkörperanteil und eine dazu relative Deformation. Die Herleitung der Bewegungsgleichung für das Kontaktproblem erfordert die relativkinematische Formulierung der kontinuumsmechanischen Grundgleichungen, d.h. der Bilanzgleichungen sowie der konstitutiven Beziehungen. Eine geeignete Kontaktmechanik einschließlich der Berücksichtigung des Kontakts rauer Oberflächen und veränderlicher Kontaktrandbedingungen ist ebenfalls notwendig. Die physikalische Einbindung der Körper in die Umgebung erfolgt über NEUMANNsche und DIRICHLETsche Randbedingungen. Auf dieser Basis können die Bewegungsgleichungen der Elastomechanik hergeleitet werden, welche sich jedoch einer analytischen Lösung verschließen. Somit werden sie in ihrer schwachen Form im integralen Mittel formuliert, was der Anwendung des Prinzips der virtuellen Verschiebungen als Ausgangspunkt für die numerische Lösung entspricht. Die rechentechnische Umsetzung erfordert die inkrementelle und diskrete Formulierung der Bewegungsgleichungen unter besonderer Beachtung der Trägheits-und Kontaktterme, wobei auf die Unterscheidung zwischen Haften und Gleiten beim Tangentialkontakt besonderes Augenmerk gelegt wird. Die numerische Lösung des Finite-Element-Gleichungssystems liefert den aktuellen Beanspruchungszustand zweier Körper im Rollkontakt. Die Funktionsfähigkeit der entwickelten Algorithmen wird abschließend anhand aussagekräftiger Beispielrechnungen zum statischen Kontakt und zum stationären Rollkontakt demonstriert, deren Ergebnisse gute Übereinstimmung mit analytischen Vergleichslösungen, soweit verfügbar, aufweisen. / Scope of this work is the preparation of a suitable simulation tool for the numerical investigation of rolling contact phenomena. The main focus lies on the continuum–mechanical formulation of the mechanical field problem of contacting bodies and its numerical solution within the framework of the Finite Element Method. For reducing the numerical effort in rolling contact simulation, induced by the necessity of a very fine discretization within the expected contact area, a relative–kinematical description is utilized. This arbitrary LAGRANGian–EULERian approach is based upon the decomposition of the total motion into a rigid body motion and a superimposed deformation. The derivation of the equation of motion for the contact problem requires the relative–kinematical formulation of the continuum–mechanical fundamental equations, i. e. the balance equations and the constitutive relations. A suitable contact model including the contact of rough surfaces and varying contact boundary conditions is also necessary. The physical embedding into the environment is accomplished by NEUMANN and DIRICHLET boundary conditions. Based upon that foundation the elastomechanics’ equations of motion are derived, which however can not be solved analytically in general. Hence, the equations of motion are transferred into their weak form by the application of the principle of virtual displacements serving for the numerical solution. The implementation of the problem demands for an incremental and discrete formulation of the equations, especially regarding the terms of inertia and the contact terms. Thereby, special attention has to be paid to the distinction between sticking and sliding within the framework of the tangential contact analysis. The numerical solution of the finite elements’ system of equations provides the state of stress, displacement and contact of two bodies in rolling contact. The reliability of the developed algorithms is finally verified by means of meaningful numerical examples for both static contact and for stationary rolling contact, whereby the numerical results coincide well with available analytical reference solutions.

The wheel-rail contact is at the core of all research related to vehicle-track interaction. This tiny interface governs the dynamic performance of rail vehicles through the loads it transmits and, like any high stress concentration zone, it is subjected to serious damage phenomena. Thus, a clear understanding of the rolling contact between wheel and rail is key to realistic vehicle dynamic simulation and damage analyses. In a multi-body-system simulation package, the essentially demanding contact problem should be evaluated in about every millisecond. Hence, a rigorous treatment of the contact is highly time consuming. Simplifying assumptions are, therefore, made to accelerate the simulation process. This gives rise to a trade-off between accuracy and computational efficiency of the contact models in use. Historically, Hertz contact solution is used since it is of closed-form. However, some of its underlying assumptions may be violated quite often in wheel-rail contact. The assumption of constant relative curvature which leads to an elliptic contact patch is of this kind. Fast non-elliptic contact models are proposed by others to lift this assumption while avoiding the tedious numerical procedures. These models are accompanied by a simplified approach to treat tangential tractions arising from creepages and spin. In this thesis, in addition to a literature survey presented, three of these fast non-elliptic contact models are evaluated and compared to each other in terms of contact patch, pressure and traction distributions as well as the creep forces. Based on the conclusions drawn from this evaluation, a new method is proposed which results in more accurate contact patch and pressure distribution estimation while maintaining the same computational efficiency. The experience gained through this Licentiate work illuminates future research directions among which, improving tangential contact results and treating conformal contacts are given higher priority. / <p>QC 20130911</p>

This thesis presents elliptical rolling contact joints as an alternative to circular rolling contact and conventional revolute joints where high quality force transmission "low friction and backlash" with variable output are desired. Parameters specific to the joint and its position are developed in terms of relative link angles and elliptical surface geometry. These parameters are used to generate the basic forward kinematics for elliptical rolling link toggle mechanisms with oscillatory motion and high mechanical advantage. As large compressive loads are characteristic of such mechanisms, stress conditions are identified and principles for joint stability with variable, precision outputs are discussed. Finally, application is made to self-adjusting passive force closures with a case study of the MUSCLE Brake (Multi-toggle Self-adjusting Connecting-Linked Electromechanical) disc brake caliper. Elliptical rolling contact joints are shown to offer several benefits over circular rolling contact, including: reduced Hertz contact stresses and flexure bending stresses, variable output velocity, maximum use of contact interface by distributing small rotations across surfaces of small curvature, reduced forces on stabilizing members, increased mechanical advantage due to eccentricity, and no-slip pure rolling provided exclusively by connecting links (or flexures) without the need for gear teeth or friction.

Achieving sustainable lubrication by using environmentally friendly formulated lubricants has became an essential component of the transition process from fossil-powered vehicles to electrified transportation. Mixtures, or aqueous solutions of molecules such as polyhydroxy alcohols, and glycols usually known as green lubricants make it possible to achieve low friction coefficients under different lubrication conditions, which constitutes a potential alternative to improve the tribological performance of moving parts in automotive systems, at the same time that the environmental requirements are satisfied. There is a need to improve the protection against mild-wear and micropitting offered by green-lubricants before consider using them in the transmission gear box of battery electric vehicles BEVs, where their low shear-stress resistance can potentially help to improve the vehicle efficiency. Therefore, this research work aims to gain understanding of the tribological behaviour of rolling-sliding elements under glycerol-based lubrication, with focus on assessing the influence of different glycerol-based lubricant formulations on the wear modes associated to rolling contact fatigue such as micropitting, and macropitting.  Micropitting tests were carried out by using a micropitting rig, with a roller on ring planetary configuration. The evolution of microcracks, and micropitting was studied for several glycerol-based lubricants at different slide-to-roll ratios (SRRs) 5-30%, and different load contact conditions 1.5-2.5 GPa. A comparison against a fully formulated transmission oil has been performed. A relationship between the surface damage morphology and the operating conditions has been established. The lubrication regimes of DLC coated contacts and uncoated contacts in presence of glycerol-based lubricants were investigated through the construction of 3D friction maps, and Stribeck curves in a wide range of rolling speeds, and SRR testing conditions. The capability of two different DLC coating systems to prevent micropitting onset due to rolling contact fatigue in presence of glycerol-based lubricants was studied: Cr/a-WC:H/a-C:H and a-C:Cr.  Under mixed-lubrication regime it was found that a reduction up to 51% of friction can be achieved by using glycerol-based lubricants compared to a commercial transmission oil. The initial low friction coefficients at low contact cycles was attributed to the low pressure-viscosity coefficient of the glycerol-based lubricants. Friction was even further reduced with the increasing contact cycles since glycerol aqueous solutions were found to promote mild-wear, causing a smoothing of the surface asperities and therefore an enhancement of the hydrodynamic effect due a higher lambda ratio (Λ), making possible to trigger superlubricity in the contact. Surface micro-cracking was found to decrease at low SRR values under glycerol-based lubrication contrasted to the contacts lubricated with a fully formulated transmission oil. Once microcracks were nucleated, micropitting progressed faster in the contacts lubricated with glycerol-based lubricants, while micropitting was null or significantly delayed in presence of transmission oil. With the increasing SRR surface microcracks density and micropitting was found to became higher. The reduction of microcracks density with a glycerol-glycol based lubricant was attributed to the adsorption of long glycol molecules on the steel surface that avoid the direct interaction between asperities. The faster micropitting progression was attributed to the presence of dissolved water in the contact. Thin DLC a-C:Cr coatings were shown to significantly mitigate the penetration of surface initiated pits into the steel substrate, which was translated in a lower volume loss. Local micro-delamination was found to be the main reason behind coating failure in presence of glycerol-based lubricants, as a result, pitting took place on the steel exposed areas.