EUROPEAN CONCERTED ACTION

ON
“Triboscience and Tribotechnology:
Superior friction and wear control in engines and transmissions ”

COST 532
Project proposal

1. INFORMATION (SUMMARY) SHEET FOR A PROPOSAL

1.1 Title of project

Rolling and rolling-to-sliding contact failure mechanisms of

diamond like coatings

Co-ordinator (full name and address)

Dr. Mitjan Kalin

University of Ljubljana
Faculty of mechanical engineering
Centre for Tribology and Technical Diagnostics
Bogišiceva 8
SI-1000 Ljubljana
SLOVENIA

August, 2002

1
1.2 Information on participating members

1.2.1 Participant 1
1.2.1.1 Center for tribology and technical diagnostics
Full address (including specific laboratory where studies will be
undertaken, if rele vant to address)

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Centre for Tribology and Technical Diagnostics
Bogišiceva 8
SI-1000 Ljubljana
SLOVENIA
Tel.: +386 1 4771-460
Fax: +386 1 4771-469

1.2.1.2 Scientist responsible for the project (if different from the applicant)
Dr. Mitjan Kalin, Assistant professor
University of Ljubljana
Centre for Tribology and Technical Diagnostics
Bogišiceva 8
SI-1000 Ljubljana
SLOVENIA
Tel.: +386 1 4771-462
Fax: +386 1 4771-469
E- mail: mitjan.kalin@ctd.uni- lj.si

1.2.1.3 Proposed effort in man/years per annum of graduates, scientists

and technicians.
• 0.3 man per year – scientists (total 1 Man- years)
• 0.5 man per year – Ph.D. students (total 1.5 Man-years)
• 0.5 men per year – technicians (total 1.5 Man-years)

1.2.1.4 Total cost of project, including: amount requested (or already

awarded) from National resources; funding required for project
per annum; total required for duration of the project.

Costs in kEuro
Center for Tribology and 2003 2004 2005 Total
Technical diagnostics,
University of Ljubljana
Mantime 23 23 23 69
Instrument time, 11 11 11 33
Consumables
Travels 3 3 3 9
Total 37 37 37 111

The total cost for the participation of Center for tribology and technical diagnostics in
the proposed project is 111 kEuro. The cost for Instrument time, consumables and
travels, i.e. 42 kEuro, is asked for from the Slovenia national resources.
2
1.2.2 Participant 2

1.2.2.1 Volvo Technology Corporation

Full address (including specific laboratory where studies will be
undertaken, if relevant to address)

Volvo Technology Corporation

Department of Surface Engineering
Chalmers Teknikpark
SE-412 88 Göteborg
Sweden
Tel.: +46 31 7724090
Fax: +46 31 820887

1.2.2.2 Scientist responsible for the project (if different from the applicant)
Per H Nilsson, Manager
Volvo Technology Corporation
Dept. 06520, CTP
SE-412 88 Göteborg
Sweden
Tel.: +46 31 7724090
Fax: +46 31 820887
E- mail: Per.Henrik.Nilsson@volvo.com

1.2.2.3 Proposed effort in man/years per annum of graduates, scientists

and technicians.
• 0.3 man per year – scientists (total 0.9 Man- years)

1.2.2.4 Total cost of project, including: amount requested (or already

awarded) from National resources; funding required for project
per annum; total required for duration of the project.

Costs in kEuro
Volvo Technolgy, VTEC 2003 2004 2005 Total
Mantime 30 30 30 90
Instrument time 5 5 5 15
Consumables 5 5 5 15
Travels 5 5 5 15
Total 45 45 45 135

The total cost for the participation of Volvo Technology in the proposed project
is 135 kEuro. The cost for travels, 15 kEuro, is asked for from the Swedish
authorities.

3
1.2.3 Participant 3

1.2.3.1 Volvo Car Corporation

Full address (including specific laboratory where studies will be
undertaken, if relevant to address)

Volvo Car Corporation

Transmission Development
Department 97712, HABVS
SE-405 31 Göteborg
Sweden
Tel.: +46 31 3257930
Fax: +46 31 593649

1.2.3.2 Scientist responsible for the project (if different from the applicant)
Dr. Naser Amini, Manager
Volvo Car Corporation
Dept. 97712, HABVS
SE-405 31 Göteborg
Sweden
Tel.: +46 31 3257030
Fax: +46 31 593649
E- mail: namini1@volvocars.com

1.2.3.3 Proposed effort in man/years per annum of graduates, scientists

and technicians.
• 0.3 man per year – scientists (total 0.9 Man- years)

1.2.3.4 Total cost of project, including: amount requested (or already

awarded) from National resources; funding required for project
per annum; total required for duration of the project.

Costs in kEuro
Volvo Cars 2003 2004 2005 Total
Mantime 30 30 30 90
Mantime, 10 10 10 30
VTEC
Rig time 0 5 15 20
Consumables 5 5 5 15
Travels 5 5 5 15
Total 50 55 65 170

Volvo Cars will finance the total cost for Volvo Cars participation in the
proposed project.

4
1.2.4 Participant 4

1.2.4.1 Halmstad University, School of Business and Engineering

Full address (including specific laboratory where studies will be
undertaken, if relevant to address)

Halmstad University
School of Business and Engineering
PO Box 823
301 18 Halmstad

Tel.: +46 35 16 71 00
Fax: +46 35 16 75 00

1.2.4.2 Scientist responsible for the project (if different from the applicant)
Prof. Bengt-Göran Rosén, PhD
Halmstad University
Functional Surfaces Research Group
School of Business and Engineering
PO Box 823, Halmstad
SWEDEN
Tel.: +46 35 16 76 04
Fax: +46 35 16 75 00
E- mail: bg.rosen@set.hh.se

1.2.4.3 Proposed effort in man/years per annum of graduates, scientists

and technicians.
• 0.2 man per year – scientists
• 0,5 man per year – Ph.D. students

1.2.4.4 Total cost of project, including: amount requested (or already

awarded) from National resources; funding required for project
per annum; total required for duration of the project.
20.000 Euro per year (seniors, already granted, requested)
32 000 Euro per year (PhD student, rig and material, requested)

Costs in kEuro
Halmstad University 2003 2004 2005 Total
Mantime, senior 20 22 24 66
Mantime, PhD stud 22 24 26 72
Rig time 5 5 10 20
Consumables 5 5 5 15
Travels 8 8 8 24
Total 60 64 73 197

The total cost for the participation of Halmstad University in the proposed
project is 197 kEuro. The cost for travels, 24 kEuro, is asked for from the
Swedish authorities.

5
1.3 Probable duration of project.

3 years

1.4 Date at which it is desired that work should begin.

01.01.2003

1.5 International cooperation with other Signatory States of the

Memorandum of Understanding

Proposed sub-contractors
(discussion in progress)

1. VITO (Ir. Jan Meneve), Mol, Belgium

2. SKF COATED BEARINGS (Dr. Victoria Wikstrom), Gothenburg, Sweden
3. SVUM Inc. (Dr. Jan Suchánek), Prague, Czech Republic

6
2. ABSTRACT

In the last decade a tremendous research work has been done in the field of development and
characterization of hard coatings, mainly to boost their use in machine component
applications working under normal and extreme operating conditions. Until now, hard
coatings have been extensively investigated only for pure sliding applications, while the
rolling contact mechanisms are rarely reported and there is a tremendous lack of knowledge in
this area. On the other hand, hard-coated rolling bearings and gears are already in use, but
because of the above reasons their applicability is still very limited. However, a great potential
for their significantly increased use is due to the fact that conventional rolling bearings and
gears are amongst most used machine elements in nowadays machinery. Accordingly,
demands for better understanding of the rolling and rolling-to-sliding contact failure
mechanisms in hard-coated systems, seem to be justified. The aim of the proposed project is
therefore to investigate the rolling and rolling- to-sliding contact mechanisms and failure
modes of different diamond like carbon coatings (DLC) deposited on bearing- and gear steel
substrates. Special attention will be considered to investigate the influence on surface
roughness and lay direction influence on the mechanisms studied. The surface and subsurface
analyses will be used to locate and detect failure modes. In addition, complementary
techniques, operational parameters and subsequent mathematical modeling should allow us to
better understand the failure mechanisms, initiation and growth of cracks, the role of shear
stresses, coatings adhesion, and other critical rolling wear and fatigue parameters. Contact
mechanisms will be investigated under dry as well as lubricated conditions using a
specifically designed in-house rolling and rolling-to-sliding contact test rigs. Results of this
investigation should give more detailed insight into the rolling and combined rolling/sliding
contact mechanisms of hard coatings, and simplify a coating selection process for the specific
machine component application. Finally, results will be followed-up and verified in industrial
try-outs at the partners sites.

7
3. PROJECT PROPOSAL INFORMATIONS

3.1 Aim of the study

The proposed project will focus on failure mechanisms of DLC-coated bearing steel
under dry and lubricated rolling and rolling-to-sliding contact conditions, which apply
for rolling bearings and gears, respectively. Rolling bearings and gears are one of the
most commonly used machine components and the demands for their improved
performance and use in severe and new applications are increasing constantly. Hard
coatings, especially diamond like coatings (DLC) are promising materials to help
achieving these goals: for example operation under poor lubrication conditions, the
need for increased transmitted power in gears, or lowering friction and energy
consumption, but also for other purposes. Moreover, bearings and gears with coated
raceways and gear flanks are already used and investigated, but the amount of
knowledge on possible failure mechanisms, and thus the reliability of DLC-hybrid
bearings and gears still limit their broader use. However, the huge amount of
conventional bearings and gears in all kinds of machines and devices is a tremendous
potential and challenge for use of such high-tech machine elements in many
applications, amongst which, also transmissions and engines. This can, however, only
be achieved by better knowledge and models of the rolling and combined rolling and
sliding contact failure mechanisms, and consequently improved reliability of bearings
and gears. Despite the huge amount of studies and work on DLC coatings in last
decade, these were performed mainly in the pure sliding conditions, while the rolling
contact conditions were over-disregarded. One of the reasons for the lack of these
investigations is also difficulty for preparing rolling contact samples, which bring
many technical problems, and are usually very expensive. However, our new in- home
rolling contact device, which was recently patented, allows rather simple testing
procedures at reasonable price, with much simpler samples than used in conventional
devices, and this can help us in performing a comprehensive study of DLC coatings
with various parameters and conditions used. So, the proposed study will bring new
knowledge and understanding of the rolling contact failure mechanisms for different
DLC coatings that is necessary to achieve above mentioned goals. The specially
designed rolling-to-sliding test rig at Halmstad University will in addition to the
patented test-rig enable possibilities to study the influence of lay direction and
substrate roughness on the coating performance. Moreover, the lab-scale results and
conditions will be investigated and verified by industrial partners using the full-scale
rolling bearings and gears test rigs.

8
3.2 Background to the study

Hard wear resistant coatings are already successfully used in computer,

microelectronic, aviation, automobile, textile, biomedical, optical and other industries.
Nowadays, the highest emphasis is on the research and development of multilayers,
diamond and diamond like carbon coatings (DLC) [1-6]. Multilayer technology gives
a great numb er of possibilities to simultaneously improve different properties of the
contact surfaces, i.e. hardness, toughness, tribological properties etc. [7-9]. DLC
coatings possess high hardness, good elastic properties; high wear resistance and, very
important for machine components, low friction against many different materials [10-
12]. DLC coatings can also be deposited at relatively low deposition temperatures (<
200°C), which is important for maintaining properties of substrates at required values.
Beside these properties, which rank DLC coatings as very suitable candidates for
machine component applications, they are also inert and possess low surface energy
[10].

In a huge number of investigations, multilayer ceramic coatings and DLC coatings

showed excellent wear and friction behavior under various sliding conditions [6, 12-
17]. However, many of machine components, like rolling bearings, gears and
camshafts , are exposed to pure rolling or combination of sliding and rolling.
Therefore, the acting wear and fatigue mechanisms are different [18,19]: the rolling
wear and rolling fatigue will become predominant. Rolling failures may start in the
subsurface region or at the surface [20,21]. In the first case, initiation and propagation
of fatigue cracks are determined by shear stresses (friction dependent), but in the case
of coated materials, other phenomena will also play a role, like coating adhesion and
combined coating-to-substrate mechanical properties. On the other hand, rolling
failure which originates at the surface (wear and micropitting) depends mostly on the
surface roughness, irregularities [22] and type of lubrication. When sliding is added to
the rolling, the failure mechanisms become more complex and to certain extent a
combination of the two modes. Initiation and propagation of surface failure can be
avoided or postponed by use of better surface finish [21]. However, this is not always
technologically achievable or economically defendable. One possible solution is to
use hard coating technology [23].

Physically vapor deposited TiN coating is successfully used in the case of cutting
tools. However, in the case of rolling contact the results were very different [24-29].
Sometimes the coatings performed rather poorly [24-26], but with some modifications
of deposition parameters and especially coating thickness much better results were
achieved [27-29]. Similar behavior was observed for majority of hard ceramic
coatings [30]. DLC coatings with a high surface hardness and low friction seem to be
very promising and suitable solution for improving rolling contact behavior, however,
seldom investigations with these coatings still report the contradictory results
[23,31,32]. In addition, the tribological behavior of DLC (and other) coatings is
greatly influenced by coating deposition parameters, coating thickness and also
operational and environmental conditions, which makes them even more difficult to
compare. It is obvious that much more comprehensive set of DLC coatings with
various parameters and testing conditions used need to be investigated for providing
better answers and understanding of failure modes.

One of the limiting factors for broad and comprehensive studies of different
parameters influencing rolling- and rolling- to-sliding contact behavior is also the cost

9
of manufacturing and deposition for the preparing samples and the complexity of the
testing procedures. Most of the testers in current use for rolling- and rolling- to-sliding
contact fatigue and wear, for example, disc-on-disc, ball-on-rod and the modified four-
ball machine use relatively large and expensive samples, especially in the case when
high-tech materials are used. In addition, these conventional machines are designed in
such a way that the specimen or counter material revolves on an axis, typically at high
speed, to reduce the testing time. The very complex geometry of the specimens, and
the machine, is therefore unavoidable and very fine tolerances are demanded. In
addition, careful and time-consuming mounting and dismounting procedures are
necessary. This makes these kind of experiments relatively expensive and time-
consuming. Moreover, with some deposition techniques and devices, full
circumferential and uniform specimen properties cannot be obtained. Therefore, the
use of our in- house made and patented device [33,34] that uses the ball-on-flat testing
principle gives us possibility of performing a comprehensive study with simple flat
samples (instead of conventional complex circular-shaped specimens), that allow
variation of almost any parameter (deposition and operational), and very importantly,
due to simple geometry and size, with uniform and known properties [35,36].

Understanding of rolling contact mechanisms and developing appropriate models are

crucial for the optimization and successful use of DLC coatings in the field of machine
components. The results of the proposed study can provide the mechanisms and
conditions, under which, better performance of DLC coated components can be
obtained and thus increased use of these high- tech machine elements can be expected
for better efficiency and reliability in various demanding fields of operation, like
transmissions and engines. The recently developed test-rig at Halmstad University will
here further increase the possibilities to connect roughness and lay directions influence
on the components performance and the mechanisms studied.

REFERENCES
[1] T. Bell; Engineering the Surface to Combat Wear; Thin Films in Tribology, Elsevier,
1993, 27-37
[2] D.S.Rickerby, A. Matthews; Advanced surface coatings, A handbook of surface
engineering, Glasgow, 1991
[3] T. Bell; Towards Designer Surfaces, Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 44,
No.2,1992, 3-11
[4] K. Holmberg, A. Matthews; Coating Tribology: Properties Techniques and Applications
in Surface Engineering, Tribology series 28, Elsevier, 1994
[5] C. Schurer, U.Semmler, Advanced applications of diamond-like carbon coatings, Surface
Engineeing, EUROMAT ?99, Vol.1, 2000, 235-240
[6] A. Skopp, D. Klaffke; Friction and wear behaviour of hard coatings in vibrating contacts;
Tribotest, Vol.6. 1999, 171-192
[7] O. Knotek, F. Löffner and G. Krämer; Multicomponent and multilayer PVD Coatings for
Cutting Tools, Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 54/55, 1992, 241-248
[8] Z.Renji; I. Ziwei and C. Zhouping; Studies on Multilayer Wear of CVD TiC-TiN
Multila yer Composites Coatings, Wear, Vol.147,1991,227-251
[9] C. Subramanian, K.N. Strafford; Review of Multicomponent and Multilayer Coatings for
Tribological Applications, Wear, Vol. 163, 1993, 85-95.
[10] A. Grill; Tribology of diamendlike carbon and related materials: an update review,
Surface and Coating Technology, Vol. 94-95, 1997,507-513
[11] P. Kodali, K.C. Walter, M.Nastasi; Investigation of mechanical and tribological
properties of amorphous diamond-like carbon coatings, Tribology International, Vol.
30.1997, 591-598

10
[12] A. Erdemir et all.;Friction and wear mechanisms of smooth diamond films during sliding
in air and dry nitrogen, ASME Tribology Transactions, Vol. 40. 1997, 667-675[
13] S.J.Bull, P.R.Chalker; Lubricated sliding wear of physical vapour deposited titanium
nitride, Surface and Coating Technology, Vol. 50, 1992, 117-126
[14] H. Ronkainen, S. Varjus, K. Holmberg; Friction and wear properties in dry, water-and
oil-lubricated DLC against alumina and DLC against steel contacts, Wear, Vol. 222,
1998, 120-128
[15] C. Donnet, A. Grill; Friction control of diamond-like carbon coating, Surface and
Coatings Technology, Vol. 94-95, 1997, 456-462
[16] Y. Liu, A.Erdemir, E.I. Meletis; Influence of environmental parameters on the frictional
behavior of DLC coating, Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 94-95, 1997,463-468
[17] C. Donnet et all.; Tribochemistry of diamond-like carbon coatings in various
environments, Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 68/69, 1994, 626-631
[18] T.A. Stolarski; Tribology in Machine Design, Butterworth Heinemann, 2000
[19] G.W. Stachowiak, A.W. Batchelor; Engineering Tibology, Elsevier, 1993
[20] G.R. Miller, L.M. Keer, H.S. Cheng; On the mechanics of the fatigue crack growth due
to contact loading, Proc. Roy. Soc. London; Vol. A 397, 1985, 197-209
[21] T.A. Harris; Rolling Bearing Analysis, Wiley, 1991
[22] P. Sainsot, J.M. Leroy, B. Villechaise; Effect of surface coatings in a rough normally
loaded contactc, Mechanics of coatings, Elsevier, 1990
[23] A. Erdemir; Rolling-contact fatigue life and wear resistance of hard coatings on bearing-
steel substrates; Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 54/55, 1992, 482-489
[24] J.F. Dill, M.N. Gardos, H.E. Hintermann, H.J. Boving; Rolling contact fatigue evaluation
of hardcoated bearing steels, Proceedings 3rd Int. Conf. on Solid Lubrication, Denver,
1985, 230-241
[25] A. Erdemir; A study of surface metallurgical characteristics of TiN-coated bearing steels,
Ph.D. Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technlogy, Atlanta, 1986.
[26] T.P. Cheng, H.S. Cheng, W.D. Sproul; The influence of coating thickness on lubricated
rolling-contact fatigue life, Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 43-44, 1990, 699-708
[27] R.M. Middleton, P.J. Huang, M.G.H. Wells, R.A. Kant; Effect of coatings on rolling contact
fatigue behaviour of M50 bearing steel, Surface Engineering, Vol. 7, 1991, 319-326
[28] T.P. Chang; Tribological behaviour of titanium nitride-coated rollers, Ph.D. Thesis,
Northwestern University, Evanston, 1991
[29] T.P. Chang, H.S. Cheng, W.A. Chiou, W.D. Sproul; A comparison of fatigue failure
morphology between TiN-coated and uncoated lubricated rollers, Tribology
Transactions, Vol. 34, 1991, 408-416
[30] R. Thom, L. Moore, W.D. Sproul, T.P. Chang; Rolling contact fatigue tests of reactivity
sputtered nitride coatings of Ti, Zr, Hf, Cr, Mo, TiAl, TiZr and TiAlV on 440C stainless
steel, Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 62, 1993, 423-427
[31] L. Rosado, V.K. Jain, H.K. Trivedi; The effect of diamond-like carbon coatings on the
rolling fatigue and wear of M50 steel, Wear, Vol. 212, 1997, 1-6
[32] B. Podgornik, J. Vižintin; Rolling contact properties of ta-C coated low alloy steel;
Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 157, 2002, 257-261
[33] M. Kalin, J. Vizintin, “Apparatus for testing rolling contact fatigue resistance of
materials with possible interruptions,” Docket No. P-5978.6/G-5978; Washington, D.C.
20231: Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Approved (2002).
[34] J. Vizintin, M. Kalin, “Apparatus for testing physical characteristics, especially rolling
contact fatigue resistance of materials,” Docket No. P-5978.5/G-5978; Washington, D.C.
20231: Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Approved (2002).
[35] M. Kalin, J. Vizintin, A Rolling-Contact Device Using The Ball-On-Flat Testing
Principle, J. Amer. Ceram. Soc., submitted 2002.
[36] M. Kalin, J. Vizintin, Effect of grinding direction on rolling performance of silicon
nitride ceramics using a new device with a ball on flat testing principle, Applied
Mechanics and Engineering, vol. 4, special issue "NCBS '99", 1999, 225-230.

11
3.3 Practical value of the project

3.3.1 Indicate the practical problems which the study will address.

Extensive investigations on hard coatings under sliding conditions led to many

important findings on the required properties and deposition parameters of
hard coatings and substrates, which resulted in improved mechanical and
tribological properties of these surfaces. However, from conventional steel- to-
steel rolling contacts it is known that rolling failure mechanisms are quite
different compared to sliding contacts. When changing the material, critical
factors are also changed, which was, for example, clearly found in the past for
hybrid- and all-ceramic bearings. Only the extensive investigations in this area
made reliable and very successful use of these components under specific
working conditions possible. In analogy, it is reasonable to expect, and current
studies confirm this, that in the case of coated surfaces, the acting rolling and
combined rolling-to-sliding failure mechanisms will also be different. In
particular, according to our anticipation, the critical factors/parameters will be
different. Therefore, for the successful and reliable operation of coated
bearings and gears much more information and better understanding of the
failure mechanisms is absolutely necessary in order to achieve their reliable
and efficient use in exploitation. As discussed before, due to amount of rolling
bearings and gears, and overall achievements of the coated surfaces in last
decade, there exist a great potential that this could actually happen.

3.3.2 Indicate, if possible, the economic benefit expected from the

research

The economic benefit of the study is hard to predict, but could be extremely
large. As mentioned several times before, the rolling bearings and mechanical
power transmissions market is one of the biggest in the world. We cannot
avoid having rolling bearings in almost every device in our industry and also
everyday life. So even a small portion of this market being replaced by high-
tech coated components could have a great economic effect. Moreover, the
coated bearings can be the only or at least much better solution for many
applications, similar as hybrid and all-ceramic bearings became in their high-
speed or high-temperature applications. These affects are difficult to quantify
economically at this stage. For coated bearings and gears, starvation of
lubricants, dry-running bearings, level of friction or electrical charges in
conventional applications and problems can be the exploitation opportunity.
The strive towards lower energy consumption is evident for all of the society
and the implementation of coated bearings and gear transmissions with
predictable performance will be significant factor towards decreased friction
and energy consumption. Finally, but not le ss importantly, the environmental
issues and conservation of resources are becoming more and more important.
DLC coatings can offer a good performance on lower-quality substrate
materials, which are usually less demanding for amount of rare alloying
elements, less energy is consumed during production, etc.

12
3.4 Plan of research

Joint plan of the project, Participant 1 – 4, is given.

Separate contributions per each partner are provided in Outline and schedule
of work

3.4.1 Description of the approach applied i n the study

The study will be performed at three levels; The first will be a long-term
parametric study using only few variations of materials, but different working
and tribological parameters, to asses their effect on acting failure mechanisms.

The second level will be a comparison and verification in which various

materials, deposition parameters, thickness, etc. will be investigated, but at
only few selected – the most relevant - working conditions. In this way, the
effect of working parameters, whic h are assumed to be more important for the
generic failure modes (type of failure and parametric effects) will be
investigated, but also the effect of materials, like microstructure, hardness,
coating adhesion, roughness, lay direction, thickness, etc.., which are more
important for the optimization of the system. Therefore, basic knowledge on
failure mechanisms supported with practical consideration and optimization
parameters will be assessed.
Due to practical verification of modeled tribological experiments by using real
rolling bearing and gear systems the bearing- and gear steel substrate will be
used, properly hardened with nice surface finish to support the hard coating at
high stresses and strains and prevent it's flaking. For comparison, another type
of steel substrate will be used to verify the observed behavior. Two different
DLC coatings with different thickness will be used and investigated in this
project.
The rolling- and rolling- to-sliding contact tests will be performed using the
own-designed test rigs. In the rolling tests, the investigated specimens will be
coated flats, while the counter-rolling elements will be a standard steel
bearing-balls. In analogy, sliding- to-rolling specimen materials will be
selected. Testing conditions as substrates manufacturing lay direction and
roughness, velocity, load, pressure, and number of cycles will be determined
based on pre-screening test. All the experiments will be performed under
monitored room-environment conditions. Experiments will be run in two
modes; continuous, to obtain the life until surface failure and intermediate-
stopping mode, to evaluate initiation and progress of wear and/or cracks.
Numerical simulations of stresses, in particular maximum shear stresses, and
power transmittable, based on experimentally obtained frictional forces, will
be used to support surface and subsurface observations and allow
determination of the correlation between the numerical and experimental
evidences. The coefficient of friction will be monitored throughout the tests
and in some pre-selected cycles the friction force will be monitored during a
single cycle, to be able to evaluate the effect of friction, and consequently
shear stresses, on location of failure origination and propagation more
accurately and with a higher level of confidence.
All tests will be repeated and statistically evaluated. Surface and sub-surface
cross-sectioning analyses will be routinely performed using the optical and
electron microscope, while for the particular purposes that could be found
during the progress of the project, other techniques will also be used, as

13
 appropriate. Several commonly used material characterization techniques will
also be applied prior the materials will be used in the experiments, and if
necessary, also after the tests.

Finally, the third level will concern industrial verification in industrial test rigs
in co-operation with the participating companies. Volvo Car’s role will be to
perform full scale verification testing. Volvo Technology role will be
primarily to analyze performed tests tribochemically and morphologically and
take care on industrial-relevance issues.

Participant 1

3.4.2 Outline of work plan and time schedule

1-3 month literature survey, discussions with partners for joint actions
3-6 month upgrade of the test rig controlling PC software for during-
single-cycle monitoring of the coefficient of friction
6-9 month selection of substrates and DLC coatings and preparation of
the test samples
9-12 month pre-screening tests and numerical verification, determination
of test parameters
12 month control point, preparation of annual report
12-18 month rolling contact testing (failure mode study)
18-24 month surface and sub-surface analyses
24 month control point, preparation of annual report
24-30 month rolling contact testing (materials optimization study)
30-36 month surface and sub-surface analyses,
final analyses of data and preparation for the final report
36 month final report

3.4.3 Staff required (graduates and technicians only)

1 Ph.D. student
1 technician

Participant 2

3.4.4 Outline of work plan and time schedule

1-3 month literature survey, discussions with partners for joint actions
3-6 month upgrading and modifications of the experimental equipment
and software for the project purposes
6-9 month selection of substrates and DLC coatings and preparation of
the analyses procedures and samples
9-12 month power transmission requirements, computational verifications,
industrial scale needs and correlations
12 month control point, preparation of annual report
12-24 month Surface analyses for failure mode study
24 month control point, preparation of annual report
24-30 month Surface analyses for optimization and verification tests
30-36 month final analyses of data and preparation for the final report
36 month final report

14
3.4.5 Staff required (graduates and technicians only)
/

Participant 3

3.4.6 Outline of work plan and time schedule

1-3 month literature survey, discussions with partners for joint actions
3-6 month upgrading and modifications of the test rigs and software for
the project purposes
6-9 month selection of substrates and DLC coatings and preparation of
the test samples
9-12 month pre-screening tests and numerical verification, determination
of test parameters
12 month control point, preparation of annual report
12-24 month Full-scale bearing and gear tests (failure mode study)
24 month control point, preparation of annual report
24-30 month Full-scale optimization and verification tests
30-36 month final analyses of data and preparation for the final report
36 month final report

3.4.7 Staff required (graduates and technicians only)

/

Participant 4:

3.4.8 Outline of work plan and time schedule

1-3 month literature survey, discussions with partners for joint actions
3-6 month repetition and robustness testing on the rough friction test rig,
optimizing topography characterization
6-9 month selection of substrates and DLC coatings and preparation of
the test samples
9-12 month pre-screening tests and numerical verification, determination
of test parameters
12 month control point, preparation of annual report
12-18 month sliding-to-rolling contact testing (failure mode study)
18-24 month surface roughness and sub-surface analyses
24 month control point, preparation of annual report
24-30 month sliding-to-rolling contact testing (materials optimization study)
30-36 month surface roughness and sub-surface analyses,
final analyses of data and preparation for the final report
36 month final report

3.4.9 Staff required (graduates and technicians only)

1 Ph D student

15
3.5 Experience and Resources of the Institutions

3.5.1 Participant 1

Brief summary of previous or current work in similar or related fields.

(1) In the frame of COST 516 – Tribology project (P.I.: dr. Jože Vižintin),
CTD group was working on Sliding and Pitting wear properties of Induction
hardened, conventional plasma nitrided and pulse plasma nitrided low alloy
steels and in co-operation with VTT Institute, Finland, and Uppsala
University, Sweden on Influence of substrate pre-treatment on the tribological
properties of hard coatings under dry sliding. Results of that work showed
improved sliding and pitting wear resistance of low alloy steels when plasma
nitrided. It was also shown that substrate treatment has a crucial influence on
the tribological behavior of hard coated surfaces.
(2) In national and international projects (NIST, USA), (P.I. dr. Jože Vižintin)
The effect of surface finish and lubricants on rolling contact fatigue of silicon
nitride was investigated. Results pointed out the importance of type and
direction of surface finish on the rolling fatigue of silicon nitride. On the other
hand new lubricant additives should be developed for ceramic materials in
order to substantially improve their rolling contact fatigue properties.
During this work, an innovative own-made test rig for rolling contact
performance of materials has been developed with several advances compared
to conventional RCF tester. The device and testing procedure were patented in
Europe and USA.
(3) Currently, CTD group (P.I. dr. Mitjan Kalin) is working on a EC 5th
Framework Project, i.e. Lubricoat – Environmentally friendly lubricants and
low friction coatings. In co-operation within 8 EU partners the innovative, and
high-tech tribological material combinations with a positive impact on the
environment, including the various DLC low friction coatings and bio-
degradable synthetic and natural lubricants, are investigated and being
developed.

Publications in the last two years.

I. Journal Papers

1. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, VLEUGELS, Jozef, VAN DER BIEST,

Omer. Influence of mechanical pressure and temperature on the chemical
interaction between steel and silicon nitride ceramics. J. mater. res., 2000, vol.
15, no. 6, 1367-1376.
2. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, VLEUGELS, Jozef, VAN DER BIEST,
Omer. Chemical reactivity of silicon nitride with steel and oxidised steel between
500 and 1200°C. Mater. sci. eng., A Struct. mater. : prop. microstruct. process.,
2000, vol. A281, issue 1/2, 28-36.
3. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Use of equations for wear volume
determination in fretting experiments. Wear. 2000, vol. 237, issue 1, 39-48.
4. ŠRAJ, Robert, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, SVOLJŠAK, Marta, FELDIN, Marta. Rapidly
biodegradable hydraulic fluids on the basis of rapeseed oil. Lubr. eng., 2000, vol.
56, no. 4, 34-39.
5. ŠRAJ, Robert, SVOLJŠAK, Marta, FELDIN, Marta, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Rapidly
biodegradable hydraulic fluids on the basis of rapeseed oil. Goriva maziva, 2000,
god. 39, br. 1, 11-23.

16
6. ARNŠEK, Aleš, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Lubricating properties of rapeseed-based oils.
J. synth. lubr., 2000, vol. 16, no. 4, 281-296.
7. VIŽINTIN, Jožef, ARNŠEK, Aleš, PLOJ, Anton. Lubricating properties of
rapeseed oils compared to mineral oils under a high load oscillating movement. J.
synth. lubr., 2000, vol. 17, no. 3, 201-217.
8. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, RONKAINEN, Helena, HOLMBERG,
Kenneth. Wear resistance of DLC coating deposited on pretreated AISI 4140
steel. Adv. eng. mater. 2000, vol. 2, no. 7, 444-448.
9. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, LESKOVŠEK, Vojteh,
WÄNSTRAND, Olle, LARSSON, Mats, HOGMARK, Wear properties of
plasma nitrided and hard coated 42CrMo4 steel. Mater. tehnol., jan.-apr. 2000,
vol. 34, Vol. 1/2, 17-21.
10. VEZJAK, Anton, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, OBERŽAN, Martina. Parameter PV lim as a
face material evaluation criteria of mechanical seals. Mater. tehnol., maj-avg.
2000, vol. 34, no. 3/4, 143-146.
11. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, LESKOVŠEK, Vojteh, RONKAINEN,
Helena, HOLMBERG, Kenneth. Tribological properties of DLC-coated plasma-
nitrided steel. Mater. tehnol., nov.-dec. 2000, vol. 34, no. 6, 375-379.
12. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, RONKAINEN, Helena, HOLMBERG,
Kenneth. Friction and wear properties of DLC-coated plasma nitrided steel in
unidirectional and reciprocating sliding. Thin solid films. 2000, vol. 377/378,
issue 1/2, 254-260.
13. VEZJAK, Anton, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Computer controlled test rig for tribological
research of materials for mechanical seals. Mater. tehnol., jan.-apr. 2000, vol. 34,
no. 1/2, 99-102.
14. TRSTENJAK, Marjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, CERKOVNIK, Janko. Changes in
maintenance program at ironworks in Slovenia. Maintenance journal, 2000, vol.
13, no. 2, 42-45.
15. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Tribological properties of plasma
nitrided AISI 4140 steel under dry and lubricated sliding conditions. Tribotest
2000, vol. 6, no. 4, 357-371.
16. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Comparison of different theoretical models
for the flash temperature calculation under fretting conditions. Tribol. int.. 2001,
vol. 34, no. 12, special issue "NORDTRIB 2000", 831-839.
17. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. High temperature phase transformations
under fretting conditions. Wear, 2001, vol. 249, no. 3/4, 172-181.
18. NOVAK, Saša, KALIN, Mitjan, KOSMAC, Tomaž. Chemical aspects of wear of
alumina ceramics. Wear. 2001, vol. 250, no. 1/12, 318-321.
19. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. A tentative explanation for the tribochemical
effects in fretting wear. Wear. 2001, vol. 250, no. 1/12, 681-689.
20. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Tribochemical changes in steel and ceramics
under fretting conditions. Stroj. vestn., 2001, vol. 47, no. 3, 114-128.
21. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Calculating the contact temperature for
lubricated and dry fretting conditions. Stroj. vestn., 2001, vol. 47, no. 3, 129-139.
22. PODGORNIK, Bojan, KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, VODOPIVEC, Franc.
Microstructural changes and contact temperatures during fretting in steel-steel
contact. J. tribol., 2001, vol. 123, no. 4, 670-675.
23. VIŽINTIN, Jožef, ARNŠEK, Aleš. Tribological properties of rapeseed oils
compared to mineral oils - basics, test methods and test oil selection (part 1).
Stroj. vestn., 2001, vol. 47, no. 3, 140-146.
24. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Influence of substrate treatment on the
tribological properties of DLC coatings. Diamond and related materials, 2001,
vol. 10, no. 12, 2232-2237.
25. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Wear resistance of pulse plasma
nitrided AISI 4140 and A355 steels. Mater. sci. eng., A Struct. mater. : prop.
microstruct. process.. 2001, vol. A315, issue 1/2, 28-34.

17
26. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Influence of substrate pretreatment on
the tribological properties of hard coatings. Stroj. vestn., 2001, vol. 47, no. 4,
152-162.
27. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, LESKOVŠEK, Vojteh. Wear resistance
of plasma nitrided structural steel. Stroj. vestn., 2001, vol. 47, no. 4, 163-173.
28. ARNŠEK, Aleš, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Tribological properties of rapeseed oils
compared to mineral oils - results of mechanical-dynamic investigations (part 2).
Stroj. vestn., 2001, vol. 47, no. 4, 174-185.
29. ARNŠEK, Aleš, UDOVC, Alma, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Tribological properties of
rapeseed oils compared to mineral oils - results of physical and chemical analysis
(part 3). Stroj. vestn., 2001, vol. 47, no. 5, 217-225.
30. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Sliding and pitting wear resistance of
plasma and pulse plasma nitrided steel. Surf. eng., 2001, vol. 17, no. 4, 300-304.
31. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, WÄNSTRAND, Olle, LARSSON,
Mats, HOGMARK, Sture, RONKAINEN, Helena, HOLMBERG, Kenneth.
Tribological properties of plasma nitrided and hard coated AISI 4140 steel. Wear.
[Print ed.], 2001, vol. 249, issue 3/4, 254-259.
32. PODGORNIK, Bojan. Coated machine elements - fiction or reality?. Surf. coat.
technol.. 2001, vol. 146/147, 318-323.
33. KALIN, Mitjan, JAHANMIR, Said, IVES, Lewis K. Effect of counterface
roughness on abrasive wear of hydroxyapatite. Wear. 2002, no. 9/10, vol. 252,
679-685.
34. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jože. Rolling contact properties of ta-C coated
low alloy steel. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2002, Vol. 157, 257-261.
35. VEZJAK, Anton, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. The influence of lubricating conditions on
the tribological behaviour of face materials in mechanical seals. Mater. tehnol.,
2002, vol. 36, no. 1/2, 43-47.

II. 2. Conference papers

1. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Comparison of different theoretical

models for the flash temperature calculation under fretting conditions. V:
ANDERSSON, Peter (ur.), RONKAINEN, Helena (ur.), HOLMBERG,
Kenneth (ur.). 9th Nordic Symposium on Tribology NORDTRIB 2000,
Porvoo, Finland, 11 - 14 June 2000, 320-326.
2. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. High temperature phase transformations
under fretting conditions. V: ANDERSSON, Peter (ur.), RONKAINEN,
Helena (ur.), HOLMBERG, Kenneth (ur.). 9th Nordic Symposium on
Tribology NORDTRIB 2000, Porvoo, Finland, 11 - 14 June 2000, 638-645.
3. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Comparison of different theoretical
models for the flash temperature calculation under fretting conditions. V:
AIHARA, Satoru (ur.), GOTO, Hozumi (ur.), MASUKO, Masabumi (ur.),
MIZUTANI, Yoshiyuki (ur.), MORI, Shigeyuki (ur.), SUZUKI, Mineo (ur.),
IZUMI, Naoshi (ur.), ICHIMARU, Kazunori (ur.). ITC Nagasaki 2000 :
proceedings of the International Tribology Conference, Nagasaki, October 29
- November 2, 2000, 403-406.
4. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. A fretting wear mechanism of high
temperature phase transformed material. V: AIHARA, Satoru (ur.), GOTO,
Hozumi (ur.), MASUKO, Masabumi (ur.), MIZUTANI, Yoshiyuki (ur.),
MORI, Shigeyuki (ur.), SUZUKI, Mineo (ur.), IZUMI, Naoshi (ur.),
ICHIMARU, Kazunori (ur.). ITC Nagasaki 2000 : proceedings of the
International Tribology Conference, Nagasaki, October 29 - November 2,
2000, 407-411.
5. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, KALIN, Mitjan. Influence of
substrate pre-treatment on the tribological properties of DLC coatings. V:
AIHARA, Satoru (ur.), GOTO, Hozumi (ur.), MASUKO, Masabumi (ur.),
MIZUTANI, Yoshiyuki (ur.), MORI, Shigeyuki (ur.), SUZUKI, Mineo (ur.),

18
 IZUMI, Naoshi (ur.), ICHIMARU, Kazunori (ur.). ITC Nagasaki 2000 :
proceedings of the International Tribology Conference, Nagasaki, October 29
- November 2, 2000, 1083-1087.
6. VEZJAK, Anton, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. The influence of the duty parameter G on
the PV limit in mechanical seals. V: FLITNEY, Robert K. (ur.). 16th
International Co nference on Fluid Sealing : papers presented at the 16th
International Conference on Fluid Sealing: Successful sealing : held in
Brugge, Belgium on 18-20 September 2000, 411-420.
7. NOVAK, Saša, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Electrokinetic aspect of friction and wear
of oxide ceramics. V: JESSEN, Todd (ur.), USTUNDAG, Ersan (ur.). 24th
Annual Conference on Composites, Advanced Ceramics, Materials, and
Structures: B : January 23-28, 2000, Cocoa Beach, Florida, (Ceramic
engineering & science proceedings, Vol. 21, issue 3-4), 407-414.
8. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, WÄNSTRAND, Olle, LARSSON,
Mats, HOGMARK, Sture, RONKAINEN, Helena, HOLMBERG, Kenneth.
Tribological properties of plasma nitrided and hard coated AISI 4140 steel. V:
ANDERSSON, Peter (ur.), RONKAINEN, Helena (ur.), HOLMBERG,
Kenneth (ur.). 9th Nordic Symposium on Tribology NORDTRIB 2000,
Porvoo, Finland, 11 - 14 June 2000, 457-468.
9. VIŽINTIN, Jožef, KRŽAN, Boris. New biodegradable universal tractor
transmission oil based on rapeseed oil. V: IGARTUA, Amaya (ur.),
ALBERDI, Alberto (ur.). Proceedings of the 3rd COST 516 Tribology
Symposium : Eibar, Spain, 18 and 19 May 2000, 54-65.
10. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Sliding and pitting wear resistance
of plasma and pulse plasma nitrided AISI 4140 steel. V: IGARTUA, Amaya
(ur.), ALBERDI, Alberto (ur.). Proceedings of the 3rd COST 516 Tribology
Symposium : Eibar, Spain, 18 and 19 May 2000, 263-270.
11. SOVIC, Boštjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Determination of indicators of tooth
flanks pitting failure on gears by vibration monitorin g. V: GUIDATI,
Gianfranco (ur.), HUNT, Hugh (ur.), HEISS, Alois (ur.). Seventh
International Congress on Sound and Vibration : proceedings, Garmisch-
Partenkirchen Congress Center, Germany, 4-7 July 2000, 515-522.
12. VEZJAK, Anton, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Experimental study on the relationship
between lubrication regime and the performance of mechanical seals. Preprint
no. 00-TC-20. V: STLE preprints presented at the ASME/STLE Tribology
Conference in Seattle, Washington, October 1-4, 2000, 1-6.
13. ARNŠEK, Aleš, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Pitting resistance of rapeseed-based oils.
V: BARTZ, Wilfried J. (ur.). 12th International Colloquium, Esslingen,
Germany, January 11-13, 2000. Tribology 2000 - Plus, 143-148.
14. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Sliding wear properties of plasma
nitrided steels. V: BARTZ, Wilfried J. (ur.). 12th International Colloquium,
Esslingen, Germany, January 11-13, 2000. Tribology 2000 - Plus, 1663-1670.
15. KALIN, Mitjan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Effects of the contact surface properties
on the flash temperature calculation and wear behaviour. V: International
Congress on Advanced Materials, their Processes and Applications, Munich,
Germany, October 1-4, 2001, p. 1-7.
16. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Load carrying capacity of duplex
treated low alloy steel under rolling and sliding contact. V: FRANEK,
Friedrich (ur.), BARTZ, Wilfried J. (ur.), PAUSCHITZ, Andreas (ur.).
Tribology 2001 : plenary and session key papers from the 2nd World
Tribology Congress, Vienna, Austria, 3 - 7 September 2001, Scientific
achievements, Industrial applications, Future challenges, 89-92.
17. KRŽAN, Boris, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Biološko razgradljiva maziva kot
alternativa mazivom mineralnega izvora. V: POJE, Tomaž (ur.). Zbornik
simpozija Trendi v razvoju kmetijske tehnike, Radenci, 14. in 15. junij 2001,
str. 27-34.

19
18. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Wear resistance of duplex treated
steel. V: KUZMAN, Karl (ur.). 3rd International Conference on Industrial
Tools ICIT 2001, Rogaška Slatina, Celje, Slovenia, April 22-26, 2001, 179-
182.
19. DOLINŠEK, Slavko, ŠUŠTARŠIC, Borivoj, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Cutting forces
as a measure for the self-lubricating of some hot-pressed composites. V:
CHANDRA, T. (ur.), HIGASHI, K. (ur.), SURYANARAYANA, C. (ur.),
TOME, C. (ur.). 3rd International Conference on Processing & Manufacturing
of Advanced Materials, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, December 4-8, 2000.
THERMEC '2000 : processing, fabrication, properties, applications. 2001, 6.
20. KALIN, Mitjan, NOVAK, Saša, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Wear and friction
behavior of alumina ceramics in aqueous solutions with different pH. V: 10th
Nordic Symposium on Tribology - NORDTRIB 2002, Stockholm, Sweden,
June 9-12, 2002, 10 p.
21. PODGORNIK, Bojan, HOGMARK, Sture, SANDBERG, Odd,
LESKOVŠEK, Vojteh. Wear resistance and anti-sticking properties of duplex
treated forming tool steel. V: 10th Nordic Symposium on Tribology -
NORDTRIB 2002, Stockholm, Sweden, June 9-12, 2002, 12 p.
22. PODGORNIK, Bojan, JACOBSON, Staffan, HOGMARK, Sture. Advantages
of DLC coating of one part, as compared to both or none in boundary
lubricated steel components. V: 10th Nordic Symposium on Tribology -
NORDTRIB 2002, Stockholm, Sweden, June 9-12, 2002, 12 p.
23. KRŽAN, Boris, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. New biodegradable universal tractor
transmission oil based on vegetable oil. V: 10th Nordic Symposium on
Tribology - NORDTRIB 2002, Stockholm, Sweden, June 9-12, 2002, 10 p.
24. HOGMARK, Sture, JACOBSON, Staffan, PODGORNIK, Boja n. On the
evaluation of coatings for mechanical components. V: GRÁCIO, José (ur.),
DAVIM, Paulo (ur.), HUA FAN, Qi (ur.), ALI, Nasar (ur.). 8th Portuguese
Tribology Conference, Aveiro, May 8-9, 2002. New developments on
tribology: theoretical analysis and application to industrial processes, 25-38.
25. PEZDIRNIK, Jožef, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Some parameters and properties
influencing on friction of spool-sliding valves. V: 3rd International Fluid
Power Conference (3rd IFK), Aachen, Germany, March 5-6, 2002, 457-468.
26. KRŽAN, Boris, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Vegetable based oil as a gear lubricant. V:
International Conference on Gears : [Tagung München], March 13-15, 2002,
465-478.
27. PODGORNIK, Bojan, VIŽINTIN, Jožef. Wear resistance of plasma and pulse
plasma nitrided gears. V: International Conference on Gears : [Tagung
München], March 13-15, 2002, 593-601.
28. SPRECIC, Denijal, SPRECIC, Elis, VIŽINTIN, Jožef, SLUGA, Alojzij.
Examples of an expert system in the estimation of the quality of lubricants. V:
MARJANOVIC, Dorian (ur.). Proceedings of the 7th International Design
Conference DESIGN 2002, Cavtat, Dubrovnik, Croatia, May 14-17, 2002,
417-422.

III. Patents

1. M. Kalin, J. Vizintin, “Apparatus for testing rolling contact fatigue resistance

of materials with possible interruptions,” Docket No. P-5978.6/G-5978;
Washington, D.C. 20231: Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks,
Approved (2002).
2. J. Vizintin, M. Kalin, “Apparatus for testing physical characteristics,
especially rolling contact fatigue resistance of materials,” Docket No. P-
5978.5/G-5978; Washington, D.C. 20231: Commissioner of Patents and
Trademarks, Approved (2002).

20
 IV. Books

1. M. Kalin, J. Vižintin, K. Dohda, S. Jahanmir, Eds., Tribology of

mechanical systems – a guide to present and future technologies,
ASME Press, In press.

Staff and equipment available at the laboratory for the efficient

execution of the proposed research work.

1. Staff
1 Professor (Ph.D.)
3 Assistant Professors (Ph.D.)
3 Ph.D. students
1 Technician

2. Equipment
• Rolling contact ball-on-flat test rig
• Optical Microscope with CCD camera
• SEM Microscope with EDS
• Stylus 3D profilometer
• Residual stress measurement system
• Hardness tester
• Equipment for metalographic preparation of samples, etc.

3.5.2 Participant 2

Brief summary of previous or current work in similar or related fields.

Volvo Technology Corporation, VTEC, is a corporate, task driven, R&D unit

operationally integrated in the Volvo groups’s different business areas and related
companies.
VTD provides expert R&D service to the both the present Volvo group and Volvo
Cars. Expertise is based on an integration of know- how relating to a large number
of basic disciplines. Volvo Technological Development is exploiting the Group
synergy opportunities in a number of development areas of large importance to
Volvo's different business branches.
VTEC has had a long fruitful cooperation Volvo Car Transmission and Professor
Rosén on final machning and coating of gears.

Publications

1. Manganese Phosphating and surface roughness consequences, H.

Westberg, P H Nilsson, B-G Rosén and B Stenbom, 26th Leeds-Lyon
symposium on tribology, Leeds, UK 1999
2. On finishing and phosphating of gear surfaces, Henrik Westberg,
Göteborg 2000, PTA 00:03, ISBN 91-7197-905-0
3. An experimental study on the effect of surface topography on rough
friction in gears, Li Xiao, Naser Amini and B.-G. Rosén, Proceedings of
The JSME International Conference on Motion and Power
Transmissions, Fukuoka, Japan, NOV 2001

21
 4. Rough friction test rig, Li Xiao, Chalmers, PTI 00:01
5. A study on the effect of surface topography on rough friction in roller
contact, L Xiao, B-G Rosén, N Amini and P H Nilsson, 10th Nordic
symposium on tribology, Stockholm, Sweden, 2002

Staff and equipment available at the laboratory for the efficient

execution of the proposed research work.

Qualification of personnel assigned to the project: The personnel at VTD are

all scientists with at least 10 years of working experience of tribological
design of components for the automotive industry. Per H Nilsson, MSc, is
responsible for the department Surface Engineering, has a long experience of
tribological testing. Claes Frennfelt, Tech. Lic., is responsible for thin film
technology. Bertil Stenbom, PhD, is the microanalytical expert.

Main RTD facilities. As partner to producers of vehicles VTEC disposes of

test facilities on different levels:

• Microanalytical equipment; XPS, ToFSIMS, SEM/EDS,

TEM/STEM/EDS, 3-D Profilometers, Scratch Tester, Indenters,
Microscopes etc.
• Equipment for quality control of lubricants; ICP, FT-IR etc.

3.5.3 Participant 3

Brief summary of previous or current work in simila r or related fields.

Volvo Cars, Transmission Development, VCC, is responsible for the

development of transmissions within Volvo Cars. Volvo Cars, Transmission
Development, has a long cooperation with VTEC and Professor Rosén on
machining and coating of gears.

Publications

1. Manganese Phosphating and surface roughness consequences, H.

Westberg, P H Nilsson, B-G Rosén and B Stenbom, 26th Leeds-Lyon
symposium on tribology, Leeds, UK 1999
2. On finishing and phosphating of gear surfaces, Henrik Westberg,
Göteborg 2000, PTA 00:03, ISBN 91-7197-905-0
3. An experimental study on the effect of surface topography on rough
friction in gears, Li Xiao, Naser Amini and B.-G. Rosén, Proceedings of
The JSME International Conference on Motion and Power
Transmissions, Fukuoka, Japan, NOV 2001
4. Rough friction test rig, Li Xiao, Chalmers, PTI 00:01
5. A study on the effect of surface topography on rough friction in roller
contact, L Xiao, B-G Rosén, N Amini and P H Nilsson, 10th Nordic
symposium on tribology, Stockholm, Sweden, 2002Staff and equipment
available at the laboratory for the efficient execution of the proposed
research work.

22
 Staff and equipment available at the laboratory for the efficient
execution of the proposed research work.

Qualification of personnel assigned to the project: The personnel at VCC are

all specialists with long of working experience of gear design. Naser Amin,
PhD, is responsible for the department Gear Technology, has a long
experience of gear surfaces. Kennet Thor is responsible for gear design. Test
personnel will active in the latter part of the project.

Main RTD facilities. As a producer of vehicles VCC disposes of:

• Gear production facilities.

• Test facilities of transmissions on different levels.

3.5.4 Participant 4

Brief summary of previous or current work in similar or related fields.

Halmstad University, The Functional Surfaces Research Group, School of

Business and Engineering, is situated in the south of Sweden on the west-
coast. The University has about 6000 students and 450 staff where of 12 full
professors are responsible for the education and research in their respectively
field. The Functional Surface research group belongs to the cross-disciplinary
Department of Economics ant Technology.

The recently founded group has a long history of research in the field from
Chalmers Surface Geometry Group, a research group at the former
Department of Production Engineering, specialized in characterization &
manufacturing of functional surface topography. The research activities from
this group at Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg (Sweden’s
second largest technical University faculty) are being moved south to
Halmstad along with the researchers and projects. The current group consist
of 5 researchers (1 full professor Bengt-Göran Rosén, 1 visiting professor
Tom R. Thomas and 3 PhD students).

Current surface topography projects are funded equally between industry

(Volvo, Swedish Steel …) and annual turnover is approximately 3.500kECU,
whereof more than 66% is external funding from industry related projects.
The researchers had been active in the field of surface manufacturing and
characterization of functional surfaces for more than 20 years with
international co-operation.

The Functional Surfaces research group is one of Europe’s most well

equipped surface topography research teams with access to measuring devises
worth more than 350KECU ranging from Atomic Force Microscopes for fine
detailed measurements along with a 3D interference microscope to 3D stylus
and capable for form and roughness measurements in the cm-dm horizontal
range.

The work carried out by the researchers and the group is internationally
known for their work on surface topography and it’s effect upon functional

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performance for a range of applications. The group has experie nce from the
organizing of international conferences and organized the 7’th International
Conference on Metrology and Properties of Engineering Surface in 1997 in
Göteborg. The group is also active in international standardization of 2D-
and 3D-roughness in ISO TC 213 as well as in the corresponding national
standardization groups both in Sweden and Great Britain..

Members from the group participated in two recently finished EU 4’th frame
work programmes:
• Brite-Euram,”Surface Topography optimisation for the automotive
industry”, AUTOSURF, 1998-2001.
• Standards Measurement and Testing “Techniques and applications in
surface microtopography”, STANDSURF, 1998-2001.

Current activities:
The long-term close co-operation with major Swedish and international
companies has ensured that the research not only has a scientific value but
also is industrially relevant.

The research is currently focused on Automotive- and Plastic- surface

applications. The current research in the Automotive field is concentrated to
optimization of surface textures for steel sheet forming and painting as well
as optimization of transmission and engine components’ surface textures on
e.g. gears and engine cylinder-piston surfaces. This on-going research has a
long history and has so far produced 5 PhD’s since 1994.

Much of the work has been directed at manufacturing process understanding

and monitoring the surfaces’ influence on effects like friction, wear, noise
emission and visual appearance. Lately attention has been paid to the growing
field of mobile communications and the visual appearance of injection
moulded components. The study and understanding of the machining of tools
for this branch of industry can play an important role for the competition in
product finish and surface related product appearance in terms of e.g. colour,
and gloss.
The group has a long experience in working with Industry and lately a rough
friction rig has been designed and built for use in projects in co-operation
with Volvo to optimize gear friction and gear noise properties for the
transmission.

Publications.

1. Rosén B.-G., On Comparative measurements, to be printed in; E.

Mainsah, J.A. Greenwood, D.G. Chetwynd(ed.) Metrology and
Properties of Engineering Surfaces, Kluwer Academic Publishers,
Boston, - ISBN 0-412-80640-1, (2001).
2. Rosén B.-G.,Tolerancing and roughness –a need for Harmonisation?, for
the Australian meeting 1999, ISO TC 213: Advisory Group, AG5,
Future needs for surface texture characterisation, Expert report on the
subject : Relationship with existing tolerancing system, January (1999).
3. T.R. Thomas, N. Amini, B.-G. Rosén, Describing the Directional
Properties on Machined Surfaces, In: P. McKeown, J. Corbett, M.

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 Bonnis, S. Sartori, H. Kunzmann, M. Weck, E. Brinksmeier, W. Preuss,
O. Reime r (ed.) Precision Engineering – Nanotechnology, Proceedings of
the 1st International euspen Conference, vol. 2, May 31 – June 4, ISBN 3-
8265-6085-X, Shaker Verlag GmbH, Aachen, Germany, (1999).
4. T.R. Thomas, N. Amini, B.-G. Rosén, Modelling and Engineering of
Honed Microtopography, In: P. McKeown, J. Corbett, M. Bonnis, S.
Sartori, H. Kunzmann, M. Weck, E. Brinksmeier, W. Preuss, O. Reimer
(ed.) Precision Engineering – Nanotechnology, Proceedings of the 1st
International euspen Conference, vol. 2, May 31 – June 4, ISBN 3-8265-
6085-X, Shaker Verlag GmbH, Aachen, Germany, (1999).
5. Henrik J. Westberg, Per H. Nilsson, Bengt-Göran Rosén, Bertil Stenbom,
Manganese Phosphating of Gears and Surface Roughness Consequence,
presented at Chris Taylor, Duncan Dawson (org.) Thinning Films and
Tribological Interfaces, 26th Leeds-Lyon Symposium on Tribology, 14th
– 17th September, (1999). Published in: D. Dawson (ed.) Thinning Films
and Tribological Interfaces, Tribology Series 38, ISBN 0 444 50531 8,
Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, (2000).
6. * T.R. Thomas, B.-G. Rosén, N. Amini, Fractal chatacterisation of the
anisotropy of rough surfaces, Wear, No. 232, pp. 41-50, (1999).
7. * T.R. Thomas, B.-G. Rosén, Determination of the Optimum Sampling
Interval for Rough contact Mechanics, In: J. Sullivan, S. Chandler, R.
Gilson, A. Kapor, A. Menon (org. com.) TISD´99 Tribology of
Information Storage Devices, Abstract Book. December 6-8, Santa
Clara, USA, (1999). Published in Tribology International, 33, (2000).
8. J. Condeco, L.H. Christensen, S.F. Jörgensen, B.-G. Rosén, A
Comparative Study of Image Stitching Algorithms for Surface
Topography Measurements, In; M. Dietzsch, H. Trumpold (ed.)
Proceedings of the X Internationales Oberflächenkolloquium, Chemnitz,
Germany, January 31- February 2, (2000).
9. * J. Condeço, L.H. Christensen and B.-G. Rosén, Software relocation of
3D surface topography measurements, In: K.J.. Stout, L. Blunt
(ed.)Transactions of the 8th Int. Conf. on Metrology and Properties of
Engineering Surfaces, April 26-28, University of Huddersfield,
Huddersfield, England, (2000).
To be Published in Int. J. of Machine Tools & Manufacture, (2001).
10. * B.-G. Rosén, T.R Thomas, Relationship of -the plasticity index to
machining parameters, In: K.J.. Stout, L. Blunt (ed.)Transactions of the
8th Int. Conf. on Metrology and Properties of Engineering Surfaces,
April 26-28, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, England, (2000).
To be Published in Int. J. of Machine Tools & Manufacture, (2001).
11. * F. Sacerdotti, BJ Griffiths, F. Benati, C. Butler, M. Jonasson, G. Liraut,
BG Rosén, J. Scheers, P. Scott, DJ Wentink, Hardware Variability in the
Three-Dimensional Measurement of Autobody Steel Panel Surfaces, In:
K.J.. Stout, L. Blunt (ed.)Transactions of the 8th Int. Conf. on Metrology
and Properties of Engineering Surfaces, April 26-28, University of
Huddersfield, Huddersfield, England, (2000).
To be Published in Int. J. of Machine Tools & Manufacture, (2001).
12. K.J. Stout, P.H. Osanna, B.-G. Rosén, The Structure for functional
control of manufacturing proceses, submitted end of December to
IQMM’2001 International NAISO Symposium on Information Science
Innovations in Intelligent Quality Management and Metrology, Dubai
February (2001).

25
13. Hongjun Wang, B.G. Rosén, J. Rosén, Inspection Information Modelling
based on STEP in Agile manufacturing, In T. Kjellberg (org.)
Proceedings of The Intrnational CIRP Design Seminar -Design in the
New Economy, 6-8 June, Stockhom, pp. 335-339, (2001).
14. Wihlborg, D. Wiklund, B.-G. Rosén, R. Crafoord, Surface Indention Test
(SIT) for friction prediction in mixed lubrication of coated steel sheets,
presented at Chris Taylor, Duncan Dawson (org), 28th Leeds-Lyon
Symposium on Tribology, 3rd – 7th September, Wienna, (2001).
15. Wihlborg, D. Wiklund, B.-G. Rosén, The Influence of Lubricants
Kinnematic Viscosity and Steel Sheet Surface Topography in a Bending
Unde Tension Friction Test, presented at: The 2nd World Tribology
Congress, F. Franek, W.J. Baritz, A. Paushitz (org), 3rd – 7th September,
Wienna, (2001).
16. Henrik Westberg, On finishing and phosphating of gear surfaces,
Göteborg 2000, PTA 00:03, ISBN 91-7197-905-0.
17. Li Xiao, Naser Amini and B.-G. Rosén , An experimental study on the
effect of surface topography on rough friction in gears, Proceedings of
The JSME International Conference on Motion and Power
Transmissions, Fukuoka, Japan, (2001).
18. Li Xiao , Rough friction test rig, Chalmers, PTI 00:01.
19. L Xiao, B-G Rosén, N Amini and P H Nilsson, A study on the effect of
surface topography on rough friction in roller contact, 10th Nordic
symposium on tribology, Stockholm, Sweden, (2002).

Staff and equipment available at the laboratory for the efficient

execution of the proposed research work.

• 1 full professor (Bengt-Göran Rosén)

• 1 visiting professor (Tom R. Thomas)
• 3 PhD students

Main RTD facilities:

• Atomic Force Microscopes for fine detailed measurements
• 3D interference microscope
• 3D stylus
• form and roughness measurements in the cm-dm horizontal range.
• Tribotesters for rolling and sliding
• Rough friction rig for optimizing gear friction and gear noise properties
for the transmission.

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3.6 Co-operation

name of partners and group project leader, exchange of information

Partners within joint agreed actions:

1. Dr. Mitjan Kalin, Center for Tribology and Tech. Diag., Univ. of Ljubljana,
Slovenia
2. Per Nilsson Henrik, VOLVO Tech. Development Corp., Göteborg, Sweden:
3. Dr. Naser Amini, Manager, Volvo Car Corporation, Göteborg, Sweden
4. Professor Bengt-Göran Rosén, Halmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden

Other Co-operating partners (discussion in progress):

1. Jan Meneve, Karel Van Acker, VITO, Mol, Belgium:

(discussion in progress)
Additional coating characterisation, coating modifications and parameters
2. Victoria Wikstrom, SKF coated bearings, Gothenburg, Sweden, and
Piet Lugt, Aidan Kerrigan, SKF Research centre ERC, Holland:
(discussion in progress)
Supplement rolling bearings tests and data, coating selection issues
3. Jan Suchánek, SVUM Inc., Prague, Czech Republic
Comparative rolling test method, comparative rolling tests, substrate material issues

3.7 Research topics:

The Action COST 532 is organized in five working groups (described in annex 2):
- Lubricant chemistry and chemomechanical effect
- Scale aspects, micro-and nanomechanisms
- Rheology
- Materials and coatings
- Evaluation testing

Please indicate the WG your proposal belong to.

Our proposal belongs to WG - Materials and coatings

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