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Tribological behaviour of carbon and low alloy steels: Effect of mechanical

properties and test conditions

Article  in  Tribology - Materials Surfaces & Interfaces · December 2011

DOI: 10.1179/1751584X11Y.0000000022

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 RAPID COMMUNICATION
Tribological behaviour of carbon and low alloy
steels: effect of mechanical properties and
test conditions
R. Autay*1, M. Kchaou1, K. Elleuch2 and F. Dammak1
In this paper, the effects of mechanical properties and test conditions on the tribological
behaviour of ISO C45 carbon steel and ISO 42CrMo4 low alloy steel were studied. The
Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd & W.S Maney & Son Ltd

tribological tests were carried out, without lubrication, on a reciprocating friction tester. Cylinder
on flat contact configuration was adopted. The results showed that there is no obvious
relationship between the mechanical properties and the friction ones. However, the variation in the
coefficient of friction depends on the test conditions. In contrary to normal load, the effect of
sliding speed on the coefficient of friction is not the same for the two steel nuances. The
tribological properties are dependent, however, on the nature of wear debris.
Keywords: Coefficient of friction, Friction energy, Hardening capacity, Hardness, Normal load, Sliding speed

Introduction hardness increases the coefficient of friction of

Several researchers investigated the effects of mechanical
properties and test conditions on the tribological
behaviour of steels, but they found diverse results.
Garcia et al.1 studied the influence of different heat
treatments of quenching and tempering on the micro-
structure, hardness and tribological behaviour of auste-
nitic steel with 5% manganese and found that there is an
increase in hardness after the wear test for untreated and
quenched in air and oil steels, which is not appreciated
for samples quenched in water and those which are
tempered. The authors explained this increase by an
austenitic transformation into martensite caused by the
friction forces applied during the test. Sari and Yilmaz2
reported that the friction and wear behaviour of
materials depend largely upon the surface material,
mechanical properties, physical structure and chemical
composition of surfaces in addition to surface topogra-
phies. Ulutan et al.3 found that the coefficient of friction
of the untreated and quenched AISI 4140 steel is nearly
the same; however, the quenched samples exhibit lower
standard deviations compared to those of the untreated
samples. The same authors reported that the surface
adsorbed particles formed during the adhesive wear test
increased the coefficient of friction of the untreated
samples. Kim et al.4 found that the coefficient of friction
and wear rate decreased with increasing surface hard-
ness. Mokhtar5 reported also that lower friction is
usually associated with harder surfaces. On the contrary,
Karakan et al.6 found that the increase in the surface
1
Unit of Mechanics, Modeling and Production (U2MP), National
Engineering School of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
2
Unit of Research Industrial Chemistry and Materials (URCIM), National
Engineering School of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
*Corresponding author, email Riadh.Autay@enis.rnu.tn
AISI 4140 steel. Kameyama and Komotori7 did not
find a definitive relationship between substrate hardness
and coefficient of friction of AISI 4140 steel. Miroslav
et al.8 examined the effects of heat treatment on the
microstructure, hardness, tensile properties and tribolo-
gical behaviour of ZA27 alloy and found that the
friction coefficient and wear volume loss increase with
applied load and decrease with sliding speed. Podgornik
et al.9 found also that increasing the test load caused an
increase in the coefficient of friction, and increasing
the sliding speed caused a considerable reduction in the
coefficient of friction. On the contrary, Jia et al.10 found
that increasing the normal load caused a decrease in the
coefficient of friction and wear rate of AISI 304 steel.
The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of me-
chanical properties and test conditions on the tribolo-
gical behaviour of two steel nuances (i.e. ISO C45 and
ISO 42CrMo4) and to confirm or to contradict the
previous studies.
Experimental
The hardness measurements are carried out on a VH6-L
semiautomatic Vickers durometer under a load of 10 N
(dwell time: 5 s). The process conditions of treatments
and the hardness of the specimens are given in Table 1.
The specimens were ground and polished after treat-
ment, and their surfaces were etched with 5% nital in
order to obtain a suitable surface for their microscopic
examination. The microstructure of the studied steel was
examined using a Zeiss optical microscope. The various
microstructures of the studied steel are shown in Fig. 1.
Micrographic analysis of steel C45 shows that the NT
microstructure is ferrito-perlitic. The application of
treatment N reduced the size of the pearlite grains.
The TH and THR microstructures are also perlitic,

ß 2011 W. S. Maney & Son Ltd

Received 20 July 2011; accepted 12 October 2011
DOI 10.1179/1751584X11Y.0000000022 Tribology 2011 VOL 5 NO 4 133
 Autay et al. Tribological behaviour of carbon and low alloy steels
Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd & W.S Maney & Son Ltd

1 Optical micrographs of various microstructures

while the TE and TER microstructures are martensitic
with retained austenite. Micrographic analysis of steel
42CrMo4 shows that the NT and N microstructures are
bainitic with finely divided carbide phases. The remain-
ing microstructures are martensitic with retained auste-
nite. Tensile tests are carried out using a Lloyd
Instruments machine (50 kN load cell) at 5 mm min21
elongation speed and without extensometer. The C45
and 42CrMo4 conventional curves of traction (Fig. 2) of
the various obtained microstructures show various
mechanical behaviours. Indeed, in the case of steel
C45, the N and NT microstructures present a ductile
behavior, while steel TE is fragile. In addition, the TH
and TER microstructures present a quasi-fragile beha-
viour, whereas the THR microstructure is a little ductile.
In the case of steel 42CrMo4, the N, NT and THR
microstructures present a ductile behavior, while the TE,
TER and TH microstructures are fragile. Strength and
ductility properties are summarised in Table 2. Rm,
Rp0?2, A%, Z% and Zu% represent the ultimate strength,
the offset yield strength (proof stress), the elongation at
break, the coefficient of striction and the striction
elongation respectively. Tribological tests are carried
out, at ambient temperature, on a reciprocating friction
tester (Fig. 3), which is designed and realised in the
U2MP research unit. This test method utilises a flat
lower specimen and a stationary cylinder upper speci-
men moving relative to one another in a linear, back
and forth sliding motion, under a prescribed set of
conditions. The load is applied vertically downward
through the upper specimen against the horizontally
mounted flat specimen. The oscillating motion of the
flat lower specimen is ensured thanks to a crank
connecting rod system permitting an eccentric trans-
mission and converting the continuous rotation of a
dc electromotor into a linear motion with adjustable
stroke. A piezoelectrical force sensor (universal load
cell type: UU-K50; range: ¡500 N; resolution: 0?001
N) measures the friction force that the specimen exerts
on the counterface. The samples’ surfaces were grinding
processed and then mechanically polished so as to
secure necessary flatness and average roughness. The
arithmetic average roughness value Ra of the surfaces
was evaluated by using a TIME TR 100 profilometer.
The conditions of the friction test are summarised in
Table 3.
The apparent coefficient of friction m is calculated by
equation (1)

Table 1 Process conditions and hardness of specimens

Hardness/HV

Methods Code Conditions C45 42CrMo4

Untreated NT … 208 373

Normalising N 870uC–30 min quenched in air 210 328
Quenching TE 850uC–30 min quenched in water 608 664
Quenching TH 850uC–30 min quenched in oil 275 588
Tempering TER TEz200uC–120 min quenched in air 538 545
Tempering THR THz200uC–120 min quenched in air 265 496

134 Tribology 2011 VOL 5 NO 4

 Autay et al. Tribological behaviour of carbon and low alloy steels
Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd & W.S Maney & Son Ltd

2 Conventional curves of traction

m~Ft =Fn (1)

where Ft is the friction force in newton, and Fn is the
normal force in newton.
The dissipated friction energy in the contact is
calculated as the work of the friction force using
equation (2)
X
E~Fn V (mi ti ) (2)
where V is the sliding speed, and mi represents the
coefficient of friction corresponding to each time
interval ti.
The friction force is continuously measured during
reciprocating sliding. Ten subsequent sliding cycles are
represented in Fig. 4 with a positive or negative value,
depending on the sliding direction. One sliding cycle
(double sliding stroke) contains 32 sample values.
Effect of test conditions on coefficient of friction
Figure 5 shows the curves of the coefficient of friction m
as a function of sliding time relative to the diverse
microstructures. Every curve consists of points of which
the first 10 represent the values of m obtained each 10 s,
and the remainder of points is the value obtained each
100 s. In Fig. 5, V1 and V2 represent the sliding speeds
corresponding to the oscillating frequencies f1 and f2
respectively. Figure 5 shows that, in the case of steel
C45, the increase in the sliding speed leads to a reduction
in the value of the coefficient of friction. However, in the
case of steel 42CrMo4, the increase in the sliding speed
leads generally to an increase in the value of the
coefficient of friction. On the contrary, an increase in
Table 2 Strength and ductility properties of specimens
3 Architecture of reciprocating sliding tribometer
the normal load leads for the two steel nuances to a
reduction of this tribological property. The variation in
the value of the coefficient of friction is usually more
sensitive to the normal load than the sliding speed. The
THR microstructure in the case of steel C45 demon-
strated a different behaviour in comparison with the
other microstructures. The duration of the ‘accommo-
dation period’ differs according to the studied structure.
Indeed, it is the longest for N and NT microstructures in
comparison with the remainder steels (TE, TH, TER
and THR).
Effect of mechanical properties on coefficient of
friction
Figure 6 shows the variation in the coefficient of
friction as a function of hardness and hardening
capacity under diverse test conditions. It is very clear
that the microstructure influences the coefficient of
friction (0?63(m(0?93 for F1 and V1). This effect is
reduced when increasing load, but it is relatively
preserved when increasing sliding speed. In addition,

C45 42CrMo4
Table 3 Friction test conditions

Rp0?2 Rm A% Zu% Z% Rp0?2 Rm A% Zu% Z% Normal loads/N F1 23

F2 43
NT 425 789 26 8.5 29 1040 1111 9.7 6.6 31.5 Frequencies of oscillation/Hz f1 1
N 507 774 17 4.6 27 1040 1259 4.8 1.6 14.6 f2 2
TE 1626 1626 0 0 0 719 719 0 0 0 Oscillating stroke/mm 10
TH 1080 1492 2.5 0.2 4.5 1000 2146 2.2 0 0 Sliding duration/min >120
TER 1800 2070 2.4 0.3 3.4 1406 1406 0 0 0 Acquisition/s21 32
THR 850 1487 4.8 2 11 1600 2013 5.7 3.3 19.7 Roughness Ra/mm 0.3¡0.05

Tribology 2011 VOL 5 NO 4 135

 Autay et al. Tribological behaviour of carbon and low alloy steels
4 Sampling of friction force over first 10 reciprocating sliding cycles
there is no obvious relationship between the mechan-
Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd & W.S Maney & Son Ltd
ical properties and the coefficient of friction in spite of
varying test conditions.
Effect of mechanical properties on friction
energy
Figure 7 shows the variation in friction energy as a
function of the hardness and hardening capacity under
diverse test conditions. As in the case of the coefficient
of friction, there is no obvious relationship between the
mechanical properties and the friction energy.
Wear mechanisms
Figure 8 illustrates the worn surfaces of flat specimens.
The presence of oxides exhibits the presence of
oxidative mechanisms of wear for the TE microstruc-
ture. The adhesive and abrasive wear mechanisms co-
exist; the first is characterised by a material transfer
between the two sliding surfaces, but the second is
prevalent and is essentially characterised by grooves or
scratches of wear.
Discussion
The coefficient of friction presents two periods: a period
of accommodation and a period of stabilisation. Alsaran
et al.11 indicated that the initial friction coefficient
increases because of the Hertzian contact, and then the
friction coefficient reaches a steady value during the test.
The low values obtained at the beginning of the test are
explained by the absence of wear during the first sliding
cycles. Suh12 explained this behaviour by the fact that
the surfaces are initially clean, and then friction results
mainly from the phenomena of plowing and deforma-
tion. The friction causes an elastoplastic deformation in
the superficial layers of the sample because it introduces
residual stresses.13 The progressive increase in the value
of the coefficient of friction is explained by the
progressive degradation at surfaces. Tyfour et al.14
considered that the production of debris and the
progressive degradation of the sample surface are
characteristic of an active friction. During this time,
the contact is not any more between antagonists but
rather between the generated layer of debris and each
one of their surfaces. The relative stability of the
tribological behaviour, at the second period, can be
explained by the action of this layer formed at the
interface and constituting with the contacting pair a
tribological system. In this study, we do not find an
obvious relationship between the mechanical properties
136 Tribology 2011 VOL 5 NO 4
(strength and ductility characteristics, hardness and
hardening capacity) and the friction ones. The increasing
applied load restricted the effect of the microstructure
since this force induces immediately a reduction of
accommodation capacity of the material. Wear debris
have essentially an abrasive action, but their chemical
composition is responsible for the presence of oxides.
The worn surface of martensitic microstructures is
characterised by the presence of oxides in the form of
rust [iron(III) oxide or ferric oxide Fe2O3]. They are
characterised by a small quantity of wear debris and a
low depth and density of wear scratches (grooves),
which translate an excellent wear resistance of these
microstructure and which can be explained moreover by
the high hardness of their sliding surfaces. The perlitic
microstructures exhibit a dissimilar tribological beha-
viour characterised by an accentuated wear translated
by the higher quantity of debris and the higher depth
and density of wear scratches. Their wear debris is in
the form of greyish iron filings. The experiment showed
that the oxidation of debris during friction causes a
remarkable increase in the value of the coefficient of
friction. It should be noted that this phenomenon is met
also with perlitic microstructures in the presence of
sufficient moisture and mainly at lower loading condi-
tions. Spinler15 reported that the coefficient of friction
is relatively large when the surfaces are very rough and
observed that it increases strongly when the surfaces of
contact corrode. Another characteristic is the noise
produced during the friction test, which is for example
very sound for the martensitic microstructures and
quiet in the case of perlitic microstructures (absence of
oxidation). Such behaviour is directly related to a stick
slip phenomenon,16 which confirms the establishment
of adhesive wear mechanism. For the two evoked
microstructures, there is absence of noise in the first
cycles of the test, which is explained by the absence of
surface damage (wear). The intensity of the noise does
not depend on the degree (quantity) of wear but rather
on the nature (chemical composition) of the product of
wear (debris). The experiment showed that the noise
level is proportional to the degree or amount of
oxidation of debris at the interface and also on the
level of normal load and sliding speed.
Conclusion
In this study, the effect of hardness and hardening
capacity on the coefficient of friction and friction energy
 Autay et al. Tribological behaviour of carbon and low alloy steels
Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd & W.S Maney & Son Ltd

Tribology 2011 VOL 5 NO 4 137

 Autay et al. Tribological behaviour of carbon and low alloy steels
Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd & W.S Maney & Son Ltd

5 Effect of normal load and sliding speed on coefficient of friction for a NT, b N, c TE, d TER, e TH and f THR
microstructures

a hardness; b hardening capacity

6 Effect of mechanical properties on coefficient of friction

138 Tribology 2011 VOL 5 NO 4


Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd & W.S Maney & Son Ltd
a hardness; b hardening capacity
7 Effect of mechanical properties on friction energy
was investigated. No obvious relationship between the
mechanical properties and the friction ones was found.
The effect of test conditions was also investigated; it was
found that increasing the normal load decreased the
coefficient of friction. In addition, increasing the sliding
speed decreased the coefficient of friction in the case of
steel C45 and increased it in the case of steel 42CrMo4.
Increasing test conditions increased also the level of
friction noise. The variation in the coefficient of friction
is more sensitive to the variation in normal load than
8 Images (SEM and BSEM) of worn flat surfaces
Autay et al. Tribological behaviour of carbon and low alloy steels
sliding speed. The chemical composition of debris
influences the coefficient of friction. Indeed, the oxida-
tion of the debris (in the form of rust) increases strongly
the coefficient of friction. This oxidation is instanta-
neous for martensitic microstructures, and it is possible
for perlitic ones in the event of the presence of sufficient
moisture. Abrasive, adhesive and oxidative mechanisms
of wear are obtained in this study, but the prevalence of
one to another depends primarily on the microstructure
of steel.
Tribology 2011 VOL 5 NO 4 139
 Autay et al. Tribological behaviour of carbon and low alloy steels
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