Abstract
Extensive research efforts have been devoted to understand the complex mechanisms of wear with the aim to minimize wear in sliding systems. Improvements in the instruments used for the characterization of the wear phenomenon are required to enhance the effectiveness of research method. In this paper, we report the design of an experimental platform that enables in-situ observation of the surface topography evolution during the evaluation of the tribological behavior of surfaces in dry and lubricated conditions. Use of state-of-the-art components for surface topography measurement, planar positioning, and force sensing allowed for the improvement of sensitivity and resolution compared with the previously reported systems. The effectiveness of the tribotester was demonstrated through friction and wear tests performed using a stainless-steel ball and a silicon wafer coated with SiO2. It was found that transition of the wear mechanism from adhesive to abrasive wear took place when a significant amount of wear debris was formed as evidenced by the in-situ observation of removal of the coating and exposure of the Si substrate. The in-situ observation of wear phenomena enabled a robust and in-depth elucidation of wear mechanisms.
Highlights
Wear is a consequence of the prolonged frictional interaction between two contacting surfaces in relative motion
It should be noted that assessment of wear by optical microscopy or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) cannot provide sufficient quantitative information about surface topography, and utilization of 2D/3D profilometry techniques is necessary for quantitative characterization of wear
Though normal and lateral forces being commonly recorded during a tribological test, the surface topography and wear are typically assessed after completion of the wear test using conventional instrumentation
Summary
Wear is a consequence of the prolonged frictional interaction between two contacting surfaces in relative motion. In-situ characterization techniques can be used for the identification and detailed examination of various phenomena taking place in mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering systems [13,14,15,16,17] This technique can be utilized for the investigation of tribological phenomena. A reciprocating tribotester was mounted onto a scanning white-light interferometer to observe the wear surface as sliding progressed Use of such an apparatus allowed for the correlation the variation of the coefficient of friction with the wear behavior during the sliding test. The main goal of the experimental setup was to provide continuous assessment of the wear phenomenon during the sliding test to obtain the information about the wear mechanism in progression [18] This could be achieved by monitoring the state of a given location in the wear track through the viewport of the 3D laser microscope. The following sections describe the details of the instrument design, construction, and usage
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