Fretting behavior of low-friction coatings: contribution to industrial selection

Selecting an appropriate low friction coating for a specific industrial application generally remains a challenging task. In the case of fretting conditions, numerous experiments enable us to define endurance life criteria which permit one to follow the evolution of the observed life time as a function of some testing parameters, especially the applied normal load. Complete understanding of the fretting behavior of each coating was not the goal of this study whereas the establishment and validation of a selection route were. Similar to the classical Wohler curves, these plots give some decisive clues for a pertinent coating selection. However, like all other simple tools, they may screen specific behaviors. A deeper investigation will therefore be required for the final decision. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.