Synthesized Multi-station Tribo-test System for Bio-tribological Evaluation in Vitro

Tribological tests play an important role on the evaluation of long-term bio-tribological performances of prosthetic materials for commercial fabrication.Those tests focus on the motion simulation of a real joint in vitro with only normal loads and constant velocities,which are far from the real friction behavior of human joints characterized with variable loads and multiple directions.In order to accurately obtain the bio-tribological performances of artificial joint materials,a tribological tester with a miniature four-station tribological system is proposed with four distinctive features.Firstly,comparability and repeatability of a test are ensured by four equal stations of the tester.Secondly,cross-linked scratch between tribo-pairs of human joints can be simulated by using a gear-rack meshing mechanism to produce composite motions.With this mechanism,the friction tracks can be designed by varying reciprocating and rotating speeds.Thirdly,variable loading system is realized by using a ball-screw mechanism driven by a stepper motor,by which loads under different gaits during walking are simulated.Fourthly,dynamic friction force and normal load can be measured simultaneously.The verifications of the performances of the developed tester show that the variable frictional tracks can produce different wear debris compared with one-directional tracks,and the accuracy of loading and friction force is within ？5%.Thus the high consistency among different stations can be obtained.Practically,the proposed tester system could provide more comprehensive and accurate bio-tribological evaluations for prosthetic materials.

Effect of large load on the wear and corrosion behavior of high-strength EH47 hull steel in 3.5wt%NaCl solution with sand

To simulate the wear and corrosion behavior of high-strength EH47 hull steel in a complicated marine environment in which seawater,sea ice,and sea sand coexist,accelerated wear and corrosion tests were performed in a laboratory setting using a tribometer.The effect of large loads on the behavior of abrasion and corrosion in a 3.5wt%NaCl solution with ice and sand to simulate a marine environment were investigated.The experimental results showed that the coefficient of friction(COF)decreases with increasing working load;meanwhile,the loading force and sand on the disk strongly influence the COF.The mechanisms of friction and the coupling effect of abrasion and corrosion in the 3.5wt%NaCl solution with sand were the wear and corrosion mechanisms;furthermore,the wear mechanism exerted the predominant effect.

Investigation into precision engineering design and development of the next-generation brake discs using Al/SiC metal matrix composites

Substantially lightweight brake discs with high wear resistance are highly desirable in the automotive industry.This paper presents an investigation of the precision-engineering design and development of automotive brake discs using nonhomogeneous Al/SiC metal-matrixcomposite materials.The design and development are based on modeling and analysis following stringent precision-engineering principles,i.e.,brake-disc systems that operate repeatably and stably over time as enabled by precision-engineering design.The design and development are further supported by tribological experimental testing and finite-element simulations.The results show the industrial feasibility of the innovative design approach and the application merits of using advanced metal-matrix-composite materials for next-generation automotive and electric vehicles.

On the Regression-Tensor Analysis of the Hardening Process of Metal Coatings

This paper constructs and studies a nonlinear multivariate regression-tensor model for substantiation of necessary/sufficient conditions of optimization of technological calculation of multifactor physical and chemical process of hardening of complex composite media for metal coatings. An adaptive a posteriori procedure for parametric formation of the target quality functional of integrative physical and mechanical properties of the designed metal coating has been proposed. The results of the research may serve as elements of a mathematical language when creating automated design of precision nanotechnologies for surface hardening of complex composite metal coatings on the basis of complex tribological and anticorrosive tests.