Laboratory fretting tests with thin wire specimens

Abstract

Wire ropes, due to their construction and application, are prone to fretting damages. In order to know the wear behaviour of individual wires under fretting conditions, laboratory tests are required. The present work describes the preliminary fretting tests accomplished with thin steel wires to optimise the testing procedure. The tests were carried out with 'crossed-cylinders' configuration varying the stroke and normal load. Afterwards, the fretted surfaces were characterised by means of an optical and scanning electron microscope, and a diamond stylus. No significant influence of selected parameters was detected and a good correlation was proved for on-line measured parameters and off-line obtained values. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.