Study and evaluation of fretting critical slip conditions by applying the design of experiments method

Tribological systems are complex systems that require a multi-disciplinary (mechanical, material, physico-chemical) approach where numerous influence factors can be involved. To characterize a contact couple, the intrinsic parameters of the materials as well as the parameters related to the contact loading and the surrounding environment need to be taken into account. Fretting analysis, by means of running condition-fretting maps (RCFM), allows the behavior of the contact couple to be taken into account and to predict the boundary between partial slip and gross slip conditions. This article presents the study of a steel/polycarbonate couple during fretting tests. The study was carried out by performing a complete factorial experiment. This method has the advantages of reducing the number of experimental trails and of obtaining the internal laws of dependence, which highlight the influence of the significant factors of the fretting process on the tribological behavior of the studied contact couple.