New technique measuring film thickness for tribological machines

Abstract

In the present work, a prototype machine was developed for film thickness measurement for tribological tests. The configuration of the machine was based Block on Ring (BOR) technique. In the current machine, frictional forces and film thickness were measured using load cell and strain gauges, respectively. Calibration was made to determine the real film thickness. Experiments were conducted using the newly developed machine to investigate the film thickness during sliding of UHMWPE against aluminum alloy counterface. The tests were performed at applied loads (1.47 N - 2.94 N). The results revealed that increases the applied load reduces the film thickness which in turn played a main role in controlling the surface characteristics of the polymer.