A rolling-contact device that uses the ball-on-flat testing principle

M. Kalin, J. Vižintin

Wear 256 (2004) 335–341.

Abstract

Rolling bearings, just like other machine elements, are being required to operate at increasingly higher temperatures, with more extreme contact pressures, in marginal lubrication situations and under various harsh environmental conditions. New, advanced materials are being developed for these conditions, but extensive rolling-contact tests to determine the failuremechanisms and evaluate the performance of these materials are needed before they can be used in real applications. Various rolling-contact testers are available for these investigations. However, in this communication we present a rolling-contact device that uses a unique ball-on-flat testing principle with a freely rotating ball. The device complements several already available rolling-contact machines because of its point-contact geometry, broad range of continuously variable loads and velocities, and the variety of surface conditions that can be easily applied with the simplest possible specimens, i.e. flats. These characteristics suggest that its major area of use could be in the rolling-wear performance testing of different materials, in particular some advanced materials like ceramics or hard coatings.

Keywords: rolling, fatique, wear, testing, ceramics, coatings

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00431648

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