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- Atomic force microscopy (2)
- Imaging (1)
- Plastic deformation (1)
- Roughness (1)
- Running in (1)
- Stitching technique (1)
- Wear scar (1)
- Wear volume (1)
- White light interferometry (1)
Die Verschleißbeträge können im nm-Bereich quantifiziert werden durch die Berechnung eines Mittelwert-Profils.
Grundlage dieser Berechnung ist die hochauflösende Erfassung der 3D-Topographiedaten, die tribologisch beanspruchte
und nichtbeanspruchte Oberflächenbereiche gleichermaßen beinhalten. Ein bestimmtes Messverfahren
(taktil oder optisch) wird nicht favorisiert. Die vertikale Auflösung des Messverfahrens sollte im nm-Bereich
liegen.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The wear rates can be quantified in the nm range by calculating a mean profile. Based on this calculation is the
high-resolution recording of the 3D topography data containing tribologically worn and unworn surface areas
alike. A specific measurement method (tactile or visual) is not favored. The vertical resolution of the measurement
process should be in the nm range.
The topography of wear scars on the surface of a steel disc coated with a diamond-like carbon (DLC) layer has been investigated with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). AFM topography images have been combined together taking advantage of the stitching technique for the study of wear scars in their initial stage. Moreover, the topography of the sample has been acquired before and after the sliding tests. In this way even very small changes of the sample surface (<10 nm) can be detected. Three main phenomena taking place at the very initial stage of wear could be identified: the abrasion of small asperities bulging out of the sample surface, the carving of swallow grooves with depth under 20 nm, and the partial or total closure of cavities present on the surface. This last phenomenon shows that, before the carving of a wear scar, the plastic deformation of particular regions of the sample, i.e. the volume around the cavities, takes place already after few cycles (in this case between 400 and 800) in the initial phase of the sliding test.
In this article we demonstrate the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements for the study of macroscopic wear scars. By stitching AFM images acquired over the wear scar, the detailed structure of the scar can be characterized even when the scar is much wider than the typical maximum scan range of the AFM (50–100 µm). The results obtained by AFM are compared with those yielded by white light interferometry (WLI). The comparison validates the WLI measurements; at the same time, it shows decisive differences in the resolutions of these two methods. As a consequence, AFM measurements are necessary whenever a precise characterization of the structure of the scar is required. However, since stitching of AFM images is rather time-consuming, white light interferometry is recommended as a faster method whenever experiments are aimed at just a gross characterization of the scar and the measurement of mean quantities (e.g. the wear volume).