Reactive Boundary Layers in Metallic Rolling Contacts

In order to meet the goal of reducing CO2 emissions, automotive industry places significant importance on downsizing components to achieve greater efficiency through lower weight and reduced friction. As friction reductions are associated with energy efficiency and wear protection with resource conservation, ever greater attention has been given to adamantine carbon- based coatings and high-alloyed steels. Such applications are, however, associated with high production costs and energy expenditures, as well as many technical difficulties. Therefore a key issue in meeting the goals of friction reduction, wear protection and development of comprehensive lightweight strategies is whether or not the functional profiles of state-of-the art alloys can be enhanced by affordable solutions. The running-in phase of mechanical systems is inevitable and, from a tribological standpoint, critical for the lifetime of such systems, though receives little attention and is poorly understood. The growth of micro-cracks accelerates premature material failure and wear during this phase of heightened friction. With this in mind, the ultimate goal of this current work is to transfer the running-in phase into the final step of the mechanical finishing process through the targeted pre-conditioning of novel, high toughness steel bearings without thermo-chemical treatments and compare these to conventional, case-hardened steels. Two mechanisms were investigated: a. Cold work hardening and b. Chemical tribofilm formation. Steels that showed a tendency toward work hardening and tribofilm formation in previous testing were chosen for this investigation. Thorough characterization of the chosen Steels was carried out before any pre-conditioning techniques were applied. The widely used 20MnCr5, seen as a reference gear steel, underwent case-hardening and subsequent deep freezing treatments in an attempt to yield discrete sample groups with respect to residual austenite. This allowed for a more thorough investigation into the effects of residual austenite on the properties of this material. The high-performance alternative steels, 36NiCrMoV1-5-7 (hot working steel) and 45SiCrMo6 (spring steel), were heat treated as recommended by their respective manufacturers, and were not case-hardened. The selection of materials with and materials without case-hardening allows for an investigation into whether or not case-hardening is even necessary to deliver acceptable friction behaviour and wear performance. Elemental analyses were conducted by multiple methods to ensure accurate results. Residual Austenite contents of the steels and the depth profiles of residual stresses were determined by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), for 20MnCr5 ranging from approximately 6 – 14 vol.%, and under 2 vol.% for the alternative alloys. Hardness profiles were taken from the testing surfaces into the material core. The carburization of 20MnCr5 led to higher hardness and the greater concentration of carbon in the carburization zone more representative of a hardened SAE E52100, or 100Cr6/102Cr6, than of a non-case-hardened 20MnCr5. Residual stresses from machining and case-hardening were measured directly at the sample surface. The high-performance Steels fulfilled manufacturer expectations in terms of elemental content, with hardness values between 50 – 55 HRC and strongly martensitic microstructure character. With characterization of the chosen materials complete, the materials could then be subjected to pre-conditioning. The first pre-conditioning method involved targeted generation of cold work hardening as induced boundary layers to protect the contact zone against wear. Work hardening was identified both by variations in residual stress profiles, i.e. the introduction of beneficial compressive residual stresses, and hardness increases in the contact zone, providing enhanced wear resistance. Parameters for work hardening were further optimized to reduce damage to the surface substrates of the treated materials. The second pre-conditioning method involved the targeted generation of chemically reactive tribolayers (tribofilms) on twin disk testing rigs. The lubrication strategies were based on: a. CaCO3, which is predominant in engine oils, and b. MoDTC, which is commonly used in engine and gear oils. The films generated in pre-conditioning were analyzed by SEM-EDX with Element-Mapping, Raman spectroscopy, and XPS to elucidate their molecular composition and concentration on the sample surfaces. The combination of these methods of analysis gave a clear indication that 104 cycles were sufficient to generate stable and lasting tribofilms. CaO and CaCO3 were the main components of the tribofilm from the first lubricant package, while MoS2, MoO2 and MoO3 were the main components from the second lubricant package. Finally, slip-rolling endurance testing (T = +120 °C, 107 cycles, approximately 19 days in a factory fill engine oil) was carried out on all materials. It was shown that both pre-conditioning methods could achieve significant reductions in friction and wear during testing at up to and including P0Mean =1.94 GPa (P0Max = 2.91 GPa, FN = 2,000 N). Ultimately, this research showed that: 1. non-case-hardened high-performance steels offer competitive wear performance and better friction behaviour than the case-hardened 20MnCr5. 2. pre-conditioning led to COF reductions to under 7/10 and wear coefficient reductions to an astonishing 1/10 of the original values for the untreated steels under mixed/boundary lubrication. 3. the observed improvements to friction behaviour and wear performance are indicative of a technically simple, cost- and energy-efficient pre-conditioning strategy that may prove