Microstructural changes and contact temperatures during fretting in steel-steel contact

In fretting wear, the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the surface and subsurface layer depend significantly on the temperature field produced in the fretting zone. Information reported in the literature indicate contradictory values for the temperature produced at the interface under fretting conditions. In the present study, a successive grinding technique was used to examine the microstructural changes generated by fretting of AISI 52100 steel and the results were compared to the mathematically calculated contact temperatures using different models. Results of this investigation indicate that white layer starts to form under individual contact spots as a result of high flash temperatures and then over the test time it grows by coalescence to a single large area.