Fretting Wear Observation of Flat Contacts

With the instrumentality of a newly developed fretting test bench for planar contacts, a state-of-the-art method of inter-mediate imaging helps to understand fretting wear mechanisms of different materials and lubricants. The test bench uses application like planar surfaces unlike the usual point or elliptical contact in model testing (with the tribological test chain). Applications considered prone to fretting wear have large planar contacts – like bearing seats and shaft hub connections – and contact pressures normally perceiv ed as low or uncritical. This article examines a method to evaluate a targeted observation of the surfaces. The method uses a movable upper sample to open the contact and to document an interim status of the test by image recording. Among other things, this is to obtain time-lapse recordings of the progressive wear and tear. Just opening the contact can already influence the tribological system and the result of a test. It is shown whether and how this opening process has an impact on tests with continuous contact.