Friction measurement

Introduction:
THE MEASUREMENT OF FRICTION FORCE and the
calculation of the coefficient of friction are often
warranted for many tribosystems. Such testing is
particularly critical for brakes, clutches, and similar
power- and motion-control mechanisms where the
friction force must be known and controlled.
In machine design, friction characteristics must be
known for friction drives, for sizing motors, for
determining work forces, and for designing any part of a
machine where
changes in
forces between sliding
members could affect operation. Friction is not a
measure of wear or the tendency to wear; therefore,
it does not determine service life. Frictional heating
sometimes causes a machine part to fail, but this
usually occurs when circumstances create abnormal
friction effects. This report will describe the numerous
techniques used to measure friction.

1. Tribometers:
Tribometers,
or devices to measure friction and
wear, are the basic technology used in most of the
tribological investigations. In the following I will discuss
the types of tribometers.
1.1. Tribometers for dry or partially lubricated
sliding contacts.

Page 1

Friction measurement

Fig (1) Basic sample configurations used in simulations of dry or partially lubricated
sliding contacts

1.1.1.

Four-Ball Tester:

In this apparatus four 12.7 [mm] diameter balls are

used, one of which is held in the chuck rotating at
1770 + 60 [rpm] while three others are held rigidly in
a pot . During the tests the pot is filled with the
lubricant
and the fixed balls are then pressed
against the rotating ball over a ten second interval.
Testing involves an application
of a series of ten
seconds runs at pre-selected and successively higher
loads until welding
of the four balls occurs. The
measurements of the wear scars are made on each
of the three lower balls. From the measurements
the
load wear scar curve is obtained and the weld point.
1.1.2.

Falex Tester:

The Falex tester, since it allows large contact stresses

to be developed
without
the need
for a strong
mechanical
support,
is widely used in industrial
research laboratories and elsewhere. In this apparatus
4 contact forces balance each other so that the
only force required
is a V-block closure force and
torque to drive the pin. The torque provides a direct
measure of friction
force without an error of friction
generated
in bearings.
High
contact pressures
achieved
during
the tests render this apparatus
suitable for seizure and scuffing studies. This instrument
Page 2

Friction measurement
provides the data on the value of coefficients of friction for
a particular material/lubricant combination,
maximum
load before seizure and wear scar diameter after testing.
1.1.3.

Timken

Apparatus:

In this apparatus a ring ('test cup') rotating at 800

[rpm]
is pressed
against
a stationary
slab ('test
block') in the presence of the lubricant tested .The test
is conducted for ten minutes at successively higher
loads until 'OK' and failure loads are determined. The
'OK' load is the maximum load
which can be applied
on the lever arm without producing scoring marks on
the slab. The load on the lever arm is used as the
indication of the strength of the lubricating film.
The four-ball, Falex and Timken apparatus are used
for standard lubricant tests that are specified by
either
scientific
institutions
or by industrial
organizations. These triborneters,
while frequently
used for commercial
testing
and some research
work, have the disadvantages of varying contact stress
during
tests and poorly
controlled
frictional
temperature. The size of the contact areas between
balls in a four-ball test can vary from the small area of
Hertzian contact to a much greater size depending on
the scale of the wear scars formed on the balls. The
Falex machine
is also subject to changes
in contact
force if severe wear occurs during a test.
1.1.4.

Pill-on-Disc Apparatus

This apparatus is perhaps the most widely used. A

pin is pressed against a rotating
disc either on
its flat surface.
1.1.5.

Pin-on-Slab:

It is a sliding reciprocating of studying means a convenient

provides this apparatus opposed to unidirectional sliding
which Is studied
on the pin-an-disc apparatus. The
Bowden-Leben machine is probably the most famous
application of the pin- on-slab principle and has been
Page 3

Friction measurement
used in a large number of research projects.
1.2. Tribometers for Combined Rolling and Sliding:
Many mechanical components contain dynamic contacts
which function under a combination of rolling and sliding
and
experiments conducted under conditions of either
pure sliding or pure
Toning do not always accurately
simulate the friction and wear phenomena
occurring.
The most commonly used design of the tribormeter to
simulate the combined rolling and sliding is the two-disc
apparatus.
In this apparatus discs in contact
are driven
at
different angular
velocities
which
superimposes
some sliding on Tolling at the dynamic contact . The
amount of sliding is controlled
by manipulating
the
velocity of one.
One of the discs is mounted
in a rigid structure
while the other disc is free to pivot
and it can
be loaded
against
the
fixed
disc.
The sliding
component
of velocity can be obtained
by using
gears to impose a ratio of angular velocities on the
discs or by varying the ratio of disc diameters

Fig (2) Schematic diagram of the two-disc apparatus

1.3. Tribometers for non-ambient conditions:

1.3.1. High Temperature

Tribometers
Page 4

Friction measurement
Ceramics
are very attractive
materials
from the
engineering
view point due to their high strength,
heat and wear resistance, chemical inertness,
low
thermal conductivity
and
maintenance of good
mechanical properties at elevated temperatures.
Thus
there is an increasing
interest
in the use of
advanced ceramics in internal combustion engines and
gas turbines where temperatures up to 1000C and
1400C are expected
respectively . As conventional
liquid lubricants
break down at much lower
temperatures,
ceramic lubrication based on lubricious
solid coatings is usually investigated at temperatures
above 800C. To attain the temperatures range where
advanced ceramics are intended to replace metals in
many engineering
applications
and conduct the
necessary tribological tests a specially designed and
built
tribormeter
is required . Some
of
the
tribometers
originally
designed
for
ambient
temperature applications,
such
as pin-on-disc
machine
or
pin-on-slab
apparatus,
can be
adapted to operate at moderate temperature
by
fitting the heating elements and insulating the test
chamber.
These modifications
can be introduced
without much effort, are relatively inexpensive and
allow testing
at temperatures
up to 500C to be
conducted. For higher temperature
ranges purpose
built tribometers
become necessary. These tribometers
can be used for wear and friction measurements
at
temperatures as high as 1200-1S00C.

Page 5

Friction measurement

Fig (3) Schematic diagram of the high temperature tribormeter

1.3.2. Tribometers

for Operation

in Vacuum:

The latter studies are of great importance to space

vehicle technology. A tribormeter for tests under vacuum
usually consists of a vacuum chamber which contains the
dynamic contact and
surrounding ancillary equipment
such as vacuum pumps and a drive system for the
dynamic contact. The shaft driving the dynamic contact
passes through the wall of the vacuum chamber via a
seal
to
the
electric motor.
Friction and wear
transducers can be fitted either
inside
the vacuum
system as the lack of ail' does not usually interfere
with the transducers or outside the vacuum system. A
schematic diagram of tribormeter for vacuum operation
is shown in Figure 3.8.

Page 6

Friction measurement

Fig (4) Schematic diagram of tribormeter for operation in vacuum

1.4. Tribometers
Lubrication:

for

Studies

1.4.4 Friction Measurements

Bearings:

of

Hydrodynamic

in hydrodynamic

In most cases the bearings used in these types of

experiments
were the same as used in real
engineering
equipment.
The apparatus
usually
Page 7

Friction measurement
consisted of a journal bearing with a rotating shaft and
bush loaded by a hanging weight. Friction forces were
measured
from a side arm connected to the bearing
that pulled on a spring or balancing weight. Friction force
is measured
by a force transducer.
The electrical
contact resistance between shaft and journal can also
be monitored
in order
to
determine
when
hydrodynamic
film failure occurs.

Fig (5) Test for studying pressure and friction coefficient in journal bearing

2. Measurement of friction coefficient:

2.1. Techniques

of Friction Force Measurement:

There
are two basic types of device commonly
used
for the measurement
of friction force and a
subsequent determination of a friction
coefficient.
These devices are the piezoelectric force gauge and the
strain gauge transducer.
2.1.1. Piezoelectric Force Gauges:
Page 8

Friction measurement
Piezoelectric force gauges provide a direct record of
frictional force as an electrical impulse which can be
recorded
electronically.
Earlier
versions
of
piezoelectric force transducers originally
contained a
quartz crystal which has the property of emitting
electric charge when it is compressed or stretched.

Fig (6) Diagram of mounting of a piezoelectric force transducer in a tribormeter

2.1.2. Strain

Gauged

Beams:

Strain gauged beams are considerably cheaper and can

be designed to suit almost any level of friction force.
Friction force is usually measured from the bending of
a beam arranged perpendicularly
to the direction of
the friction force. Measurement of friction force using the
principle of a flexible beam is schematically illustrated in
Figure 4

Page 9

Friction measurement

Fig (7) Combination of strain gauges and a flexible beam.

2.1.3. Miscellaneous method:

There are various method used to determine friction force
without transducers like in the following figure:

Fig (8) Methods used to determine friction coefficient without using transducers

3. Factors affecting test:

If the system under study will wear, and it is the

desired goal of the study to determine the friction
characteristics under conditions of steady-state wear,
Page 10

Friction measurement
friction should be measured in a wear test. If the
system of concern will not change with time, a
friction test that does not involve wear can be
conducted.

Fig (9) Effect of system wear on friction force. (a) System that does not
experience any wear or changes in behavior when wear occurs. (b)
System where friction force increases with time until reaching a steadystate condition. (c) System where friction force varies with each event in the
wear process

Full-film separation will not occur unless the film

thickness is greater than the surface roughness.
Even with hydrodynamic lubrication, there are
some investigators who claim that the system
friction is affected by the surface roughness and
lay see following figure.

Fig (10) Effect of surface roughness on the friction coefficient of a

lubricated sliding system.

Page 11

Friction measurement

4. Conclusion:
In many life aspects friction is an important rule but
in other it must be reduced in order not to affect
system function.
Tribometers are important for measuring tribological
characteristics of any tribology system.
Measurements depend on operating environment like
temperature, humidity, vacuum and surface
condition.
For any tribological system

Page 12