Development and Experimental Validation of a Pin-on-Disc Tribometer for Friction Testing of Different Metal Materials

Abstract

The importance of tribology lies in understanding material characteristics that directly affect the reliability and service life of machine elements. In addition to determining tribological properties, it is necessary to provide experimental conditions that correspond to real operating conditions in order to obtain relevant data on the behavior of two materials in contact. This paper presents the development, construction, and experimental testing of a device for measuring friction force in the contact between two materials. The tribometer described in this study belongs to the Pin-on-Disc type. The normal load is applied by a mechanical system based on weights and a lever mechanism. The variation of friction force is monitored in real time using a load cell and a data acquisition system. Within the experimental study, six test series were conducted. The coefficient of friction was analyzed for the contact between a steel disc and pins made of different materials (steel, brass, and aluminum). After several experimental test series, the obtained results were analyzed. The results of the experimental testing confirm the reliability of the developed tribometer.