Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Measurement Of The Wear Properties Of Metallic Solids With A Falex Lubricant Testing Machine, Edward Boyd Hale, Chun-Ping John Meng, Ronald A. Kohser

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

A modified Falex Lubricant Testing Machine has been used to determine wear properties of metallic solids. In particular, wear mass loss, wear volume loss, wear rates, and other parameters have been determined for a basic steel, as heat treated and after ion implantation. Wear rate improvements of more than an order of magnitude were found in a nickel-chrome steel (SAE 3135) implanted with 2.5x10¹⁷ N⁺₂/cm². Wear tests were conducted with a cylinder-in-groove geometry in a mild lubricating oil with loads greater than 540 N, which corresponded to pressures which exceeded 10⁸N/m^{2 …}