Surface Damage Accumulation in Alumina under the Repeated Normal-Tangential Contact Forces

Abstract

Surface damage accumulation of alumina ceramics under the cyclic stress state was analyzed. The alternating stress state in repeat pass sliding contact was simulated by a synchronized biaxial (normal and tangential) repeated indentation technique. Wear debris formation mechanism through damage accumulation and fatigue grain failure in both alumina ceramic balls and flat disks was confirmed, and the contact induced surface degradation due to fatigue cracking accumulation was quantified by measuring vertical contact displacement. Variation of structural compliance (slope of load-displacement curve) of two contacting bodies was expressed as a variation of the apparent elastic property, called pseudo-elastic constant, of the contact system.

Keywords

• alumina;
• surface damage accumulation;
• fatigue wear