Effect of hardness on fretting wear behaviour of structural steel, En 24, against bearing steel, En 31

Fretting wear damage is frequently reported in the races of rolling element bearings and leads to the increased noise and vibration in the total machinery. The fretting wear studies were conducted on the as-received and hardened and tempered En 24 steel fretted against hardened and tempered bearing steel, En 31. Tests were conducted at different normal loads under unlubricated dry conditions. The coefficient of friction depends on the contact conditions, whether it is gross slip or stick slip. Hardness has only marginal effect on improving the fretting wear resistance.