Fretting Wear Protection by Lubricating Greases Tester – Mechanisms And Design

Fretting Wear Protection by Lubricating Greases Tester – Mechanisms and Design

Overview of Fretting Wear
Fretting wear occurs under small oscillatory motion between contacting surfaces, often leading to surface fatigue and debris formation. Changsha Friend Experimental Analysis Instrument Co., Ltd’s Fretting Wear Protection Tester evaluates the effectiveness of grease formulations in mitigating such wear.

Test Setup
A sample pair (usually steel-on-steel) is loaded under a defined normal force (e.g., 50 N) and subjected to small amplitude oscillations (e.g., ±20 μm) for a set number of cycles (e.g., 10⁶). Pre-applied grease film thickness is controlled to investigate boundary lubrication regimes.

Key Components

• Linear or Rotary Actuator: Delivers precise motion cycles.

• Load Cell: Monitors normal and tangential forces in real time.

• Environmental Chamber: Optional for temperature or humidity control.

• Wear Debris Collection: Filtration modules capture particles for subsequent mass or microscopy analyses.

Significance for Mechanical Systems
Bearings, electrical connectors, and joint interfaces in aerospace and automotive applications rely on greases to prevent fretting. Quantitative wear data informs grease selection and maintenance intervals.

Operational Guidelines

• Grease Application: Uniform film thickness—typically 10–20 μm—applied using controlled depositors.

• Surface Preparation: Polish counterfaces to defined roughness (e.g., Ra 0.1 μm) and clean with solvent.

• Data Recording: Track friction coefficient evolution to correlate with wear scar depth.