Study on rotational fretting wear of 7075 aluminum alloy

Rotational fretting wear tests in a ball-on-flat configuration have been successfully realized on a special rotational fretting rig developed from an ultra-low-speed reciprocating rotational driver. The rotational fretting behavior of 7075 aluminum alloy against 52 100 steel was studied under different angular displacement amplitudes and normal loads. The results showed that both Ft−θ and Ft/Fn curves can be used to characterize the rotational fretting running behavior, which exhibited different curve shapes and variation trends in different fretting running regimes. The rotational fretting behavior of 7075 aluminum alloy was strongly dependent on the angular displacement amplitude, normal load and number of cycles. The wear of 7075 aluminum alloy was characterized by slight attrition in the partial slip regime, while a combination of delamination, abrasive and oxidative wear was found in the slip and mixed fretting regimes. The formation of a central bulge probably due to plastic flow was observed under gross slip condition of the rotational fretting mode.