Abstract
The National Centre of Tribology has been involved in a Department of Trade and Industry-industry cosponsored project investigating the control and reduction of friction through surface engineering. In many industrial areas there are sliding mechanisms operating in dry or marginally lubricated conditions where friction is the main cause of inefficiency. If the friction coefficient can be reduced and maintained at a low level, energy consumption and running costs are lowered. In other components, e.g. brakes and clutches, there is a requirement for controlled high levels of friction. Results for friction obtained from three types of laboratory test, reciprocating sliding, rolling, and combined rolling-sliding, are summarised. The tests were designed to simulate practical industrial situations, including bearings, gears, scuffing conditions, and sliding. The processes investigated cover the whole range of surface engineering, including ion implantation, PVD, CVD, electrochemical and thermochemical diffusion treatments, and sprayed coatings.
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