A new method for sampling wear particles directly from the lubricant reservoir has been developed and applied successfully for analyzing wear particles by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy in transmission mode having coupled energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The lubricated tribological testing was carried out with fully formulated as well as with non-formulated synthetic base oil. It was possible to analyze individual particles with dimensions as small as about 5–30 nm which are likely the 'primary' wear particles. A majority of the particles, however, are agglomerated and, thus, lead to the formation of larger agglomerates of up to a few micrometers. Chemical analysis led to the conclusion that most of the observed particles generated in formulated oil, especially the larger ones, are composed of the additives of the lubricant oil. In non-formulated base oil, the primary particles are of similar dimensions but contain only iron, chromium and oxygen, but most likely stem from the mating materials. This finding points to the fact that the main wear mechanism under lubricated conditions with fully formulated oil is more like a continuous shearing process rather than a catastrophic failure with the generation of larger primary particles. When the oil is non-formulated, however, several wear mechanisms act simultaneously and the wear rate is increased significantly. Generated larger primary particles are milled down to the nanoscale. When the oil is fully formulated, wear mainly takes places at the additive layer or tribofilm; thus, the steel surface is protected.
The inevitable increase of torque or load, because of lightweight approaches, pushes the oil-film temperatures on the teeth flanks of gears above 200°C, and requires alloys with higher strength and toughness properties. Furthermore, the real temperature on surfaces during the physical vapor deposition (PVD) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of thin films can exceed the annealing temperature of the state-of-the-art bearing and gear materials, such as AISI 52100 (1.3505), 16MnCr5 (1.7131), 21NiCrMo (1.6523), and 30CrMoV9 (1.7707). Such trends call for slip-rolling-resistant, alternative alloys suited for contact stresses above P0max of >2.2 GPa. The tribological profile under slip-rolling conditions at 120°C in a factory engine oil (SAE 0W-30, ACEA A3/B4, ν120°C = 5.33 mPa, HTHS150°C = 3.0 mPa) until 10 × 106 load cycles between P0max of 2.25 GPa to 3.92 GPa of uncoated 100Cr6 (1.3505, PBQ), 102Cr6 (1.2067), Cronidur 30 (1.4108, DESU), 45SiCrMo6 (1.8062, CVEM), 40SiNiCrMo1 [vacuum arc remelting (VAR)], CSS-42L (AMS 5932, vacuum induction melting (VIM)-VAR, and carburized), 36NiCrMoV1-5-7 (CAB), ASP2012 (ASP), and 20MnCr5 (1.7131, carburized) was established in twin disk machines (Amsler-type and 2Disk). The present benchmark illuminates the tribological impact of uncoated bearing steels in comparison to uncoated alternative steel alloys on friction, wear and slip-rolling resistance, as well as load carrying capacity. Iron-based steel alloyed with silicon or molybdenum reduces alloying costs and avoids thermo-chemical treatments. This benchmark suggests considering an extension to fracture toughness from hardness and strength as a relevant property for slip-rolling alloys. If slip-rolling resistant, the wear rates of the metallurgical different steels were more or less within one order of magnitude, but the influence of increasing contact stresses on the tribological profile differed significantly.