An energetic approach to friction, wear and temperature

By means of the radionuclide technique ultra low wear rates were continuously measured in a pin-in-bushing tribometer with lubrication. In addition, friction and temperature were monitored simultaneously. Applying an energetic approach it was assumed that the total power dissipated in the tribological contact results mainly from heat flux, generation of wear and change of material with respect to topography, structure, elementary composition and chemistry. The product of normal force and sliding velocity as input values and coefficient of friction as response of the system constitutes the total power loss of the system. The heat flux was calculated from the temperature of the pin, while the power loss due to wear was derived from the continuously measured wear rate. Finally, the power loss due to material change was determined. Our findings suggest that by continuous wear measurement an optimum running-in regime for every tribological system can be found.