Effect of contact temperature, normal load and dry sliding velocity on the coefficient of friction and wear behavior of nickel based super alloy

Purpose The purpose of the present paper aims to, study the coefficient of friction and wear behavior of nickel based super alloys used in manufacturing of gas and steam turbine blades. In present paper, parametric study focuses on normal load, dry sliding velocity and contact temperature influence on coefficient of friction and wear of a nickel based super alloy material. Design/methodology/approach Experimental investigation is carried out to know the effect of varying load at constant sliding velocity and varying sliding velocity at constant load on coefficient of friction and wear behavior of nickel based super alloy material. The experiments are carried out on a nickel based super alloy material using pin on disk apparatus by load ranging from 30 N to 90 N and sliding velocity from 1.34 m/s to 2.67 m/s. The contact temperature between pin and disk is measured using K-type thermocouple for all test conditions to know effect of contact temperature on coefficient of friction and wear behavior of nickel based super alloy material. Analytical calculations are carried out to find wear rate and wear coefficient of the test specimen and are compared with experimental results for validation of experimental setup. Regression equations are generated from experimental results to estimate coefficient of friction and wear in the range of test conditions. Findings From the experimental results, it is observed that by increasing the normal load or sliding velocity, the contact temperature between the pin and disk increases, the coefficient of friction decreases and wear increases. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to study the influence of individual parameters like normal load, dry sliding speed and sliding distance on the coefficient of friction and wear of nickel based super alloy material. Originality/value This is the first time to study effect of contact temperature on the coefficient of friction and wear behavior of nickel-based super alloy used for gas and steam turbine blades. Separate regression equations have been developed to determine the coefficient of friction and wear for the entire range of speed of gas turbine blades made of nickel based super alloy. The regression equations are also validated against experimental results.