subject: Understanding The Functions Of A Tribometer [print this page] Research , Industrial and manufacturing processes use a number of testing machines and gadgets. One such highly essential equipment is the Tribometer used in engineering and and research environment. What is the devices function, read on to know.
A tribometer is used to measure wear and friction between two different surfaces. Tribometers play a very important role in the engineering and manufacturing fields. When studying how lubricants would affect the friction and wear of surfaces or how thin films, coatings, surface modifications etc. would would life, feel ,durability of various objects, this is called Tribology.
When using a tribometer, testing can be done in different environments in order to simulate the scenarios in real life. Throughout the testing, the correct force will be applied unto the moving part. The test can be done in rotary, reciprocating , linear etc motions. Wear can be determined by measuring the material volume that is lost during testing and friction can be computed by measuring the active forces between two materials. The final measurement would show the wear on materials and is generally used to determine longevity and strength.
Different Types of Tribometers
Tribometers are available in many different designs and types to simulate varying conditions. Depending on the application tribometer can be divided into nano tribometer, micro tribometer and heavy load tribometer. The most basic and common configuration independent of the load range is pin on disk setup where a pin is held on a rotating disk. A micro or nano tribometer carries out test at low forces (nN to 200N). Nano tribology involves testing thin films, bio medical devices, cream , lotions, nano particles, DLC, pvd coatings etc. The high-load tribometer is useful for testing materials in the traditional industries such as hard coatings, lubricant, oil, gasoline, bearings, cutting tools, railway etc.
To simulate real life conditions tribometer has to test samples under controlled environmental conditions. For instance, the high-temperature tribometer configuration is used to simulate extreme conditions especially applicable to surfaces in the aerospace industry, automobile engine etc.
Overall, a tribometer is used to test a wide range of products in manufacturing and other industries. These devices are commonly used to test coatings, lubricants, thin films, footwear, cream, lotions etc.
