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Concept utilizes porous metal or nonmetal matrix containing liquid metal in porous structure and confines liquid metal to contact area between rotor and brush by capillary forces. System may also be used to lubricate bearing systems.
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Friction and adhesion properties of single crystal and polycrystalline aluminum oxide in sliding contact in vacuum
To evaluate commercially developed dry solid film lubricants for aerospace bearing applications, an investigation was conducted to examine the friction and wear behavior of magnetron-sputtered diamondlike carbon (MS DLC) and plasma-assisted, chemical-vapor-deposited diamondlike carbon (PACVD DLC) films in sliding contact with 6-mm-diameter American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) 440C stainless steel balls. Unidirectional sliding friction experiments were conducted with a load of 5.9 N (600 g), a mean Hertzian contact pressure of 0.79 GPa (maximum Hertzian contact pressure of L-2 GPa), and a sliding velocity of 0.2 m/s. The experiments were conducted at room temperature in three environments: ultrahigh vacuum (vacuum pressure, 7x10(exp -7) Pa), humid air (relative humidity, approx.20 percent), and dry nitrogen (relative humidity, <1 percent). The resultant films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and surface profilometry. Marked differences in the friction and wear of the DLC films investigated herein resulted from the environmental conditions. The main criteria for judging the performance of the DLC films were coefficient of friction and wear rate, which had to be less than 0.3 and on the order of 10(exp -6) cu mm/N-m or less, respectively. MS DLC films and PACVD DLC films met the criteria in humid air and dry nitrogen but failed in ultrahigh vacuum, where the coefficients of friction were greater than the criterion, 0.3. In sliding contact with 440C stainless steel balls in all three environments the PACVD DLC films exhibited better tribological performance (i.e., lower friction and wear) than the MS DLC films. All sliding involved adhesive transfer of wear materials: transfer of DLC wear debris to the counterpart 440C stainless steel and transfer of 440C stainless steel wear debris to the counterpart DLC film.
Influence of vacuum system and oxygen partial pressures on friction behavior of metals in sliding contact
Sliding contact in seals is known to change at high sliding speed from initially uniform pressure to a deformed state where contact is restricted to small patches of the surface. An earlier analysis of such contact was based upon the assumption of uniform pressure on the small patches. The present study draws upon a thermoelastic influence function to provide simultaneous equations for pressure on subdivisions of the patches. The final result is that at high wear rate (and, consequently, high traversal speed of the patch along the surface of the more conductive body of the contacting pair) the pressure distribution becomes roughly triangular with the maximum pressure toward the leading edge of the patch.
A phosphonium-phosphinate ionic liquid (IL) was studied as a lubricant additive for rolling-sliding contacts. The bench-scale test was designed to simulate automotive rear axle operation during cold start, highway towing, and overload conditions. Adding such an IL (2%) into a base oil significantly reduced wear loss and rolling contact fatigue, e.g., microcracking and micropitting, but made the vibrational noise notably higher under a low (-1.5%) sliding roll ratio (SRR). Additionally, worn surface characterization revealed an interesting texture pattern with alternating smoother plateaus and rougher valleys, which is believed to cause the high vibration. No increased vibration was observed at a high (-30%) SRR, possibly because the more aggressive sliding abrasion prevented such a surface texture from forming.
Monolithic SiC and Si3N4 are susceptible to contact stress damage at static and sliding interfaces. Transformation-toughened zirconia (TTZ) was evaluated under sliding contact conditions to determine if the higher material fracture toughness would reduce the susceptibility to contact stress damage. Contact stress tests were conducted on four commercially available TTZ materials at normal loads ranging from 0.455 to 22.7 kg (1 to 50 pounds) at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 1204C (2200 F). Static and dynamic friction were measured as a function of temperature. Flexural strength measurements after these tests determined that the contact stress exposure did not reduce the strength of TTZ at contact loads of 0.455, 4.55, and 11.3 kg (1, 10, and 25 pounds). Prior testing with the lower toughness SiC and Si3N4 materials resulted in a substantial strength reduction at loads of only 4.55 and 11.3 kg (10 and 25 pounds). An increase in material toughness appears to improve ceramic material resistance to contact stress damage. Baseline material flexure strength was established and the stress rupture capability of TTZ was evaluated. Stress rupture tests determined that TTZ materials are susceptible to deformation due to creep and that aging of TTZ materials at elevated temperatures results in a reduction of material strength.
This report formally documents the completion of the Advanced Reactor Technologies Level 3 Milestone (M3TG-25OR0501104), “Initiate graphite wear studies of graphite samples exposed to molten salt environment,” due August 1, 2025. The report summarizes the ongoing activities aimed at characterizing the friction and wear behavior of graphite in molten LiF–NaF–KF (FLiNaK) salt environment. The wear and friction behavior of self-mated ET-10 nuclear graphite were tested at varying temperatures (550°C and 650°C), contact loads (40 and 80 N) and sliding speeds (1 and 10 mm/s) in a controlled argon environment. The results were compared to the wear and friction behavior of the same graphite material in a dry argon environment. This report presents initial studies on the friction and wear behavior of graphite in sliding contact mode, with future work focused on investigating the graphite matrix materials, as well as rolling and impact contact modes. The outcomes of this report could provide insights into assessing the integrity of the graphitic components of pebble-bed fluoride salt–cooled high-temperature reactors (PB-FHRs) to enhance their safe operation.
Contact stress analysis was conducted for ceramic-metal and ceramic-ceramic interfaces using a finite element model. Ceramics investigated included NC-132 hot-pressed silicon nitride, NC-350 reaction-bonded silicon nitride, Hexaloy SA SiC, and RBN104 reaction-bonded silicon nitride. The results are shown to be well correlated with closed-form solution both for normal and normal-tangential loading. The latter load condition is found to be especially critical for ceramic materials due to the presence of a high tensile stress at the trailing edge of the ceramic surface contact zone. It is shown that during sliding contact or biaxial loading, the magnitude of this tensile stress increases with the coefficient of friction.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and sliding friction experiments were conducted with hot-pressed, polycrystalline Ni-Zn and Mn-Zn ferrites in sliding contact with various transition metals at room temperature in a vacuum of 30 nPa. The results indicate that the coefficients of friction for Ni-Zn and Mn-Zn ferrites in contact with metals are related to the relative chemical activity in these metals: the more active the metal, the higher is the coefficient of friction. The coefficients of friction for the ferrites correlate with the free energy of formation of the lowest metal oxide. The interfacial bond can be regarded as a chemical bond between the metal atoms and the oxygen anions in the ferrite surfaces. The adsorption of oxygen on clean metal and ferrite surfaces increases the coefficients of friction for the Ni-Zn and Mn-Zn ferrite-metal interfaces.
A method is provided for tribological lubrication of sliding contact surfaces, where two surfaces are in contact and in motion relative to each other, operating in a vapor-phase environment containing at least one alcohol compound at a concentration sufficiently high to provide one monolayer of coverage on at least one of the surfaces, where the alcohol compound continuously reacts at the surface to provide lubrication.