WEAR

ELSEVIER Wear 190 (1995) 155-161

Advances in tribology: the materials point of view

H. Czichos, D. Klaffke, E. Santner, M. Woydt
Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin, Germany

Received 9 January 1995; accepted 25 April 1995

Abstract

The application of advanced materials in various areas of contemporary technology can lead to improvements in the function, quality and
performance of engineering components and systems. In this paper, an overview of the developments in high performance materials, both
organic and inorganic based, is given. This includes thin hard coatings because of their increasing importance in tribological improvements.
For these types of materials the requirements for tribo-engineering applications are analysed. Research results from BAM concerning ceramics
and ceramic composites, polymers and polymer composites as well as hard coatings illustrate the friction and wear behaviour of these materials
and their potential for tribo-engineering applications.

Keywords; Tribology; Advanced Materials; Ceramics; Polymers; Coatings

1. Introduction “dry” operating conditions (solid friction and wear), there-

fore this paper is restricted to these conditions.
It is now generally recognized that materials suitable for
The key role of materials in future technological develop-
unlubricated tribological applications should fulfil the fol-
ments has been recognized in all industrialized countries in
recent years. The driving forces behind the development of lowing criteria:
wear volume
wear coefficient =
“advanced materials” are various technological, social, and load X sliding distance
environmental requirements [ 11, for example:
improved performance, integrity and reliability of engi-
k=2< 10e6 mm3 N-’ me’
N
neering systems;
higher durability of products; friction coefficient = frlzz:l EJ
higher efficiency, lower-energy consuming engines;
lightweight, high-strength structures; f=2<0.2
rN
miniaturization of components;
increased productivity. wear coefficient and friction coefficient should not depend
Further improvement in conventional materials and the on the operating conditions (especially velocity and tem-
development of “new” materials may also lead to improve- perature) .
ments in triboengineering applications. However, it must be
kept in mind, that in triboengineering applications materials-
related influences must be seen in a broader context because Overview on advanced materials
these materials are components of “tribological systems”
[ 21. These, in general, comprise four structural parts, i.e. an Although the term advanced materials cannot be defined
interacting materials pair, a lubricant and the environmental precisely, a broad interpretation, may include the following
atmosphere. Depending on the type of tribological system substances:
(e.g. bearing, brake, wheel/rail, cam/tappet, piston/cylin- materials with a new composition or microstructure:
der, workpieceltool, etc.) and the operating conditions (load ?? inhomogeneous
FN, speed U, temperature T, operating duration l, sliding dis- ?? amorphous
tance s) various friction and wear processes may occur. It is 0 nanocrystalline
known that the influence of materials on the behaviour of materials providing novel applications through improved
tribological systems is most pronounced in unlubricated, i.e. development and processing:

0043-1648/95/$09.50 0 1995 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved

SSDIOO43-1648(95)06678-O
156 H. Czichos et al. /Wear 190 (1995) 155-161

Table 1
Properties of metallic, polymeric and ceramic materials

Material 6 (kg dm-‘) E ( GPa) R, (N mm-*) K, (MN m--3’2) HV A (W m-’ K-‘)

Steel I.&l.9 210 440-930 50-214 100-900 30-60

Cast iron 7.lL7.4 64-181 140490 6-20 100-850 30-60
Aluminium alloy 2.662.9 60.80 300-700 2345 25-140 121-237

Aluminium oxide 3.9 210-380 3-5 1400-1900 25-35

Zirconium oxide 5.6 140-210 8-10 1200 2
Silicon nitride 3.2 170 4-7 1600-1800 25-50
Silicon carbide 3.2 450 4.5 2500 90-125

Polyamide (PA) 1.01-1.14 2-I 40-80 3 80-100 0.25-0.35

Polyimide (PI) 1.3 3-5 100-300 0.37-0.52
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) 2.1-2.3 0.4 15-25 12 0.25
Polyethylene (PE-HD) 0.92 0.2 14-18 l-2 13 0.33-0.57

S density; E elastic modulus; R, tensile strength; K, fracture toughness; HV Vickers hardness; A thermal conductivity

?? synthesis erties as can be seen from Table 1 [ 51. Metallic materials

?? design are characterized by high values of tensile strength, fracture
0 production (incl. assembly and joining) toughness and thermal conductivity. Outstanding properties
3. materials with improved properties: of ceramics are high elastic moduli and hardness which
0 structural properties decrease only slightly with increasing temperature; while
mechanical their detrimental property is the low fracture toughness. A
thermal positive aspect for polymers is the low density, but a negative
?? functional properties factor is the low thermal durability.
electrical Friction and wear are not directly correlated with the prop-
magnetic erties of the bulk material because of the system’s dependence
optical on the tribological behaviour. However, materials-related
biological aspects may influence the tribological behaviour considera-
0 performance properties bly, see Table 2.
complex behaviour (incl. tribology, corrosion) Ceramic materials are beneficial when compared with met-
environment compatibility (incl. recycling, dispo-
als (like steels) in respect to their lower mass forces, better
sition)
abrasion resistance and their tribochemical behaviour. Less
quality, safety, reliability
positive aspects of ceramics include higher modulus-depend-
Within this broad scope, with respect to mechanical engi-
ent contact pressures, the shift of the Hertzian shear stress
neering and tribo-engineering applications, materials with
maximum from the bulk to the surface and the high friction-
improved structural and performance behaviour are of special
induced temperature increase because of the relatively low
interest [ 31.
thermal conductivity of oxidic ceramics. The low fracture
toughness may also lead to the spontaneous formation of wear
particles under impulse loading.
3. General requirements on advanced materials for
Polymeric materials are beneficial when compared with
tribological applications
metals in respect to their low interfacial adhesion energy, for
example PTFE, PE, leading to low friction values. However
Materials for tribological applications originate from all
lower Hertzian contact pressures may not be beneficial for
basic classes of substances including metals, ceramics and
these materials as they are a consequence of viscoelastic and
polymers and their composites [ 41. Materials from the vari-
plastic deformations which start already at low loads.
ous classes may differ considerably in their engineering prop-
Thin coatings have the advantage to of customising tribo-
Table 2 logical material properties yet they leave the bulk properties
Tribological characteristics in relation to material types of triboelements unchanged which have been optimized by
technical practice.
Mass forces F ,m~ymer
< Fm.m,,s < Fmma~
Hertzian pressures After this general comparison of materials properties rel-
Ppolymer<Pmetal<Pcmmics
Friction-induced temperature increase Tmetal< T,+,,, < T,,,,,,,, evant to tribology, selected research results from BAM in the
Adhesion energy (surface tension) Adwrymer < Ad,,,,, < Ad,,,,,,,, main classes of advanced materials-ceramics, polymers and
Abrasion Ab ceram,cS
< Ab,,,,, < Abporymer their composites as well as coatings-are presented in this
Tribochemical reactivity R pdymur R c.x2JnlCS
< Rm,,,,
paper.
 H. Czichos et al. / Wear 190 (1995) 155-161 157

4. Tribology of advanced materials-research results T = 22’C : rel. humidity 30-40 X

E
from BAM

4.1. Ceramics and ceramic composites

It is well known that the final application oriented char-

acterization of the tribological behaviour of materials can
only be made in “field tests”. However, an overview on the
ranking of different materials types and the orders of mag-
nitude of friction and wear data can be determined utilizing
model tests. The tribological behaviour of oxide ceramics
(aluminium oxide, zirconium oxide) and non-oxide ceramics
(silicon carbide, silicon nitride) was investigated systemat-
ically under conditions of dry sliding at temperatures between
22 “C and 1000 “C with laboratory test configurations [ 61. Sliding velocity V h/S) -
The compilation in Fig. 1 shows that in most cases the Fig. 2. Sliding friction data of new ceramic composites, S&N,-BN and SiC-
friction coefficient is higher thanf=0.5 in this broad tem- Tic.
perature range. At room temperature and low sliding velocity
friction values of about f = 0.2 tof= 0.1 can be obtained for Self meted sliding couples

A1,03/A1,0, and ZrOJZrO, sliding pairs. This is possibly F,,=10 N : v- 3 m/s : laboratory air

due to adsorbed water molecules. For special newly devel-

oped ceramic composites, i.e. Sic-Tic and S&N,-BN sliding
pairs, much lower friction values can be observed in Fig. 2
when compared with the former named ceramics as well as
with monolithic non-oxide alumina or zirconia ceramics, see
Fig. 2 [ 71. It should be possible to achieve a value off= 0.1
for dry ceramic sliding pairs through further material devel-
opments.
In addition to the friction data, wear values for sliding pairs
of ceramic materials are compiled in Fig. 3. It can be seen
that the wear data of all sliding pairs are higher than
22 400 BOO 1000
k = lop6 mm3 N- ’m- ’which is considered a limit for prac- Ambient temperetur T /?j
tical applications as discussed above. On the other hand it
Fig. 3. Sliding wear data of ceramic materials.
should be mentioned that for Al,03/A1203 and ZQ/ZrO,
sliding pairs under conditions of room temperature and low Similarly as in the case of friction, wear may be consid-
sliding velocities (u = 0.03 m s- i) very low wear coefficient erably reduced for composites which contain titanium in a
in the range of k= lOPa mm3 N-’ m-’ can be obtained, ceramic matrix [ 81. For example, the wear coefficient of
which may be suitable for some tribological applications. Sic-Tic/Sic-Tic sliding pairs (with 50 wt.% TIC) can be
This beneficial behaviour is obviously due to adsorbed water reduced by a factor of 5 at room temperature and by a factor
molecules. of 10 at 400 “C when compared with plain SiC/SiC pairs.
Through the addition of TiN to Si,N, the wear coefficient
#3Z
Self mated sliding couples could be reduced by two orders of magnitude at 800 “C when

1
- i..P.I
-
I

t.QILlN
FM-j0 N : ”=3 m/s : laboratory air
compared with the wear behaviour of monolithic Si3N4, as
illustrated in Fig. 4. For these ceramic composites load-car-
rying oxide layers are formed through tribochemical reactions
.B during the running-in process, as analysed by Auger electron
c
; spectroscopy (AES) and ESCA [ 81. AES element distribu-
g .6 tion micrographs of the wear tracks of Si,N4-TiN show an
“6 t increase oxygen and titanium concentration when compared
e
E .4 with specimen surface outside the wear track, see Fig. 5.
2
c .2
ESCA investigations revealed titanium oxide phases in the
wear tracks. TIN oxidizes at temperatures above 550 “C to
0 TiO, --x and can reduce friction and wear at suitable stoichi-
ometric conditions.
Ambient temperatur T [Cl
The results of these screening experiments with new
Fig. 1.Sliding friction data of ceramic materials ceramic composites (which are not yet optimized) indicate
158 H. Czichos et al. /Wear 190 (1995) 155-161

Solid state friction unstressed wear track

Self-mated sliding couples WI
Air : FN = 10 N

T z 22’C T : 8OO’C

Sliding velocity v

Fig. 4. Sliding wear data of new ceramic composites, S&N4 and S&N,-TIN.

the interesting application potential of advanced ceramic

materials. In addition it should be noted as a general beneficial
characteristic of ceramic is that they cannot fail catastrophi-
cally through adhesion and seizure like metallic materials.

4.2. Gluss and glass composites

Of special interest in tribological practice for cases where

liquid lubricants are not allowed (e.g. food production and
handling machines) are materials which form lubricious lay-
ers during operation.
Polymer materials are candidates for such purposes, but
they fail if the friction induced temperature increase in the
contacts exceeds material characteristic limits. Preliminary
tests indicated that glass materials may be an alternative. WO 616 A; T = BOO’C; v = 0.38 m/s;
F, = IO N; s = 1200 m; rotating disc
Further pin-on-disc tests have therefore been performed with
different types of glass and glass composites [ 91. Fig. 5. Titanium distribution and oxygen distribution on a wear surface of
ceramic composite Si3N4-TiN.
It was expected that considering the brittleness of glass
only reinforced glass materials would be useful. The rein-
and glass transfer from the high-modulus C fibre reinforced
forcing materials must withstand the production temperatures
glass pins to the Al:, counterbody. This formation of self-
of glass, so only ceramic fibres and additives came into con-
lubricating graphite layers explains the fine tribological
sideration. Because of the abrasivity of these types of fillers
behaviour of that tribocouple.
ceramic counterparts have been chosen.
The test conditions have been: normal force, 10 N; contin- 4.3. Polymers and polymer composites
uous sliding velocity, 0.1-1.0 m s-l; laboratory surrounding
atmosphere and temperature (RH = 40%, T= 22 “C) The tribology of new polymer compositions and composite
The wear coefficients determined for the different glass materials was studied systematically by investigating 30
types sliding against Al,o 3 in Fig. 6 indicate that reinforcement materials types with a pin-on-disk tribometer [ IO]. In these
with high modulus carbon fibres (Young’s modulus studies a pronounced influence of polymer types on their
540 GPa) or with C fibres plus Zr02 lowers the wear coef- tribological behaviour was found. This is shown in Fig. 7 for
ficients below the lop6 mm3 N-l m-’ limit for useful appli- polymer composites based on polyamides.
cation. The corresponding steady state friction coefficients For the polyamide composites the wear coefficient could
are 0.18 and 0.13. be reduced below a level of k= lo-’ mm3 N-’ m-l. The
These composites fulfil both criteria for suitable engineer- most beneficial polymer composites for the experimental con-
ing application in unlubricated contacts. The high-modulus ditions applied were:
C fibre reinforced glasses behave equally well against other ?? polyamide (trade name A3R) with an “anti-friction mod-
counterbodies such as steel AISI 52 100. ifier”
Surface analyses with small spot ESCA, EDX and laser 0 polyamide (trade name KR 4290) filled with 20 vol.%
Raman spectroscopy indicated a formation of graphite layers carbon short fibres, randomly distributed.
 H. Czichoset al. /Wear 190 (1995) 155-161 159

Sodium-bore-silicate glass (Duran); v: 1 m/s; fiber content: 40 vol.-% rotating disc: Al?Os
1 E-03
, __ 1

z
g IE-05
$
0
k ______
f
g IE-06

I I I I
IE-07 ’
Duran g,ass without Duran glass + C-fiber Duran glean + C-fiber Duran gtasa + no2
fibers (high strength) (high modulus) + C-fiber (high modulus)

Fig. 6. Wear coefficient of glass types sliding against Al?, without lubrication

Ill”’
FJii 103
Counter body: St 100 Cr 6: R, - 0.4 Pm Counter body: AI2 0, (+ PTFE); R, = 4 pm
P
1
10-s 7 km
102

IO

1 1
u
10-l ;
3
1o-2

10-g
10-s

P”‘Yde Po~lyt;traaw
PA 66 PA 66 PA 66

P r FE
P”‘ypaAmide + AFM + C-fibres
Fig. 8. Sliding wear data (reversing motion) of polymer composites (linear
Fig. 7. Sliding wear data of polymer composites (pin-on-disk tribometer). tribometer).

Fig. 8 shows that for the polyamide composites and con-

These polyamide composites were studied further with
respect to their potential applications in maintenance-free
robotics bearings by a newly developed linear tribometer with
reversing motion [ 111. This computer-aided tribometer
measures continuously the friction and wear as a function of
load and velocity. In addition, friction-induced temperatures
were determined by thermocouples and the friction heat
induced elongations of the specimens could therefore be com-
pensated for. In these studies a special counterbody (namely
a Al:,-coating containing PTFE) was used in studying the
tribological behaviour of the polymer composites
ditions of dry reversed sliding, only the polyamides with
carbon fibres are in the range of a wear level of
k= lop6 mm3 N-’ m-‘. However, through the application
of a special synthetic lubricant (silicon base) with an “anti-
friction modifier’ ‘, the wear values could be reduced
considerably. The lowest wear value (less than
k= lop9 mm3 N-’ m-‘) under these conditions was deter-
mined for the polyamide composite material (20% C fibres) .
Because the polymer specimens had a contact area of 10 mm
by 20 mm, extremely low wear rates (perpendicular to the
[ 121. contact area) of 1.5 nm km-’ sliding distance is observed.
160 H. Czichos et al. /Wear 190 (1995) 155-161

The friction coefficient under those optimized conditions was

in the rangef= 0.03-0.08.

4.4. Coatings

The advances in coating technology have encouraged the

use of thin hard layers for wear protection in various appli-
cations for example, abrasion resistant decorative layers, cut-
ting tools.
Carbon-based coatings combine different beneficial prop-
erties such as high hardness, low roughness, high resistance Fig. 9. Evolution of friction and wear during an oscillating sliding test with
steel ball/Me:CH-coated disk in dry air.
against corrosion and wear, and usually low coefficients of
friction. Recent developments in coating technology provide
a broad spectrum of carbon-based coatings including carbon, AISI 52100 I M3 + Me : CH ( u = 3% )

hydrocarbon, metal-doped hydrocarbons, diamond-like car-

bon and diamond coatings. Each of these types of coatings
behaves in a typical manner under different tribological appli-
cations and because of the sometimes insufficient literature
description of their composition and structure, discrepancies
in tribological valuation appear.
A prenormative study at BAM, supported by the CEC in
the frame of a BRITE/EURAM project, to characterise the
influences of test parameters on friction and wear of such 5 10 20 40 80 160 320
coatings was started. Tribotesting with a small oscillating AX*“- F, (Nmmls)

sliding motion was chosen because of the usually good repro- Fig. 10. Wear factor versus the power parameter for tests in dry air.
ducibility of that method and the reduced the need of test
samples compared with other methods.
To gain the necessary information the following test AlSl52100/ M3+Me:CH (lJ=3%)
092 ,
parameter variation was performed: I
?? stroke length: 0.2 mm-O.4 mm-O.8 mm
?? frequency: 5 Hz-10 Hz-20 Hz
0 load: 5 N-10 N-20 N t
?? relative humidity: 3%-50%-100%. $ 0,l
E
.9! t i
The number of cycles was n = 100 000 and the temperature
of the ambient air in the test chamber was 25 “C.
The results presented here are for a Me:CH coating fretting
against a steel ball (AK1 52 100) [ 111. 5 10 20 40 80 160 320
The coating was produced by an ARC process on tool steel Ax-v-F, (NmmIs)
(M 3). The metal content in the coating was approximately
Fig. 11. Coefficient of friction versus the power parameter for tests in dry
15 wt.% of Ti and W each. air.
Fig. 9 shows the evolution of friction and wear during a
test in a more qualitative manner for one of the test runs. It Ax uF, (N mm s-i). This parameter is the product of the
can be clearly seen that very short test runs for that couple test parameters stroke length, frequency and normal force.
under a dry air atmosphere would lead to a totally incorrect The diagrams reveal that the tested tribocouple fulfils both
evaluation of the tribological behaviour. After this running- application criteria stated for technical products. Only the
in period the low wear rate and the extremely low friction wear factor for the highest power parameter exceeds a little
values of about 0.01-0.02 are evident. Additional short run- the limit of k< 10e6 mm3 N-i m-i.
ning tests (n = 1 .OOO) and electron microprobe analysis of For all test parameters and the humidity range tested the
the wear scar on the ball show that the running-in behaviour values of friction and wear coefficients are far below 0.2 and
is caused by the wear of the steel ball. This is followed by an lop6 mm3 N-i m-i respectively, with the exception of tests
incubation period then a transfer of coating material to the conducted in dry air and highest power parameter.
ball.
Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 compile the wear results from all var- 5. Concluding remarks
iations of test parameters in one diagram.
The figures show the wear coefficient k and the friction In this overview paper, the prerequisites for advances in
coefficient as a function of some kind of power parameter tribology were analysed from a materials point of view in
 H. Czichos et al. / Wear 190 (I 995) 155-161 161

discussing the tribological behaviour of newer types of [ 111 D. Klaffke, Tribological behaviour of Me:CH coatings on steel against
steel in the case of oscillating sliding motion at room temperature,
ceramics, glasses, polymers and coatings.
Diamond Films Technol., 3 (3) ( 1994) 149.
The results show that through material modifications (i.e. [ 121 E. Santner, Wear rates of polymer compounds in the nanometer/km
microstructural changes), composite structures, special range. in Proc. Tribology of Composite Materials, Oak Ridge, May
(solid) lubricants and coatings a beneficial tribological 1990, ASM International, Materials Park, OH, 1990, p. 301.
behaviour can be obtained. These results underline the great
potential of “advanced materials” for tribological applica-
tions. Biographies

Horst Czichos: is president of the Federal Institute of Mate-

rials Research and Testing (Bundesanstalt fiir Materialprti-
Acknowledgements
fung, BAM) Berlin-Dahlem and adjunct professor
(Honorar-Professor) at the Technische Fachhochschule Ber-
The authors thank Mrs. S. Binkowski and Mrs. U. Ernst
lin. He was educated in both engineering and physics and
for their technical help in preparing this paper.
worked for several years in the optical industry until he joined
BAM in 1966. He received a degree (Ing.-grad.) in precision
engineering from the Polytechnic Ingenieurakademy Gauss
References
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Dieter Klaffke: is head of the laboratory “Fretting wear;
1978.
[ 31 B. Ullmann, New Materials Market Outlook, Bureau d’Informations
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[4] H. Czichos, R.A. Vitro, J. Lexow and D.P. Eade (eds.), Materials engineering from the same university in 1978. He joined the
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377.
[ 81 A. Skopp and M. Woydt, Characterization ofthe tribological behaviour sity of Berlin and received an M. SC. (Dipl.-Phys.) and a
of ceramic sliding pairs with modem surface analytical tools, doctor’s degree from the same University. He was engaged
Materialwissenschaji und Werkstoflechnik, 22 ( 1991) 289 (in in nuclear research, radiation protection and nuclear fuel anal-
German). ysis at the Hahn-Meitner-Institute for nuclear research and at
[9] A. Skopp, M. Woydt, K.-H. Habig, T. Klug and R. Bruckner, Friction
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[lo] E. Santner, Testing techniques in tribology, Materialpriijiutg, 32 development of measurement methods, microtribology and
(1990) 18 (in German). tribophysics.