AVS 53rd International Symposium
    Advanced Surface Engineering Thursday Sessions
       Session SE2-ThM

Invited Paper SE2-ThM6
Surface Engineering for Improved Resistance to Contact Damage

Thursday, November 16, 2006, 9:40 am, Room 2007a

Session: Hard and Nanocomposite Coatings: Synthesis, Structure, and Properties
Presenter: M. Dao, MIT
Authors: S. Suresh, MIT
M. Dao, MIT
Correspondent: Click to Email
The tribological resistance of materials and surfaces during monotonic and repeated contact with other objects depends on a wide variety of complex interactions among material microstructure/properties, contact geometry, loading conditions, initial surface roughness, surrounding environment and lubricants. This presentation will provide a broad overview of our recent work on strategies to enhance the contact-damage resistance of surfaces. For this purpose, depth sensing, instrumented, continuous contact measurements are obtained over multiple length scales, from nm to macro-scale, using nanoindentation, quantitative frictional sliding measurements, cyclic normal indentation, repeated frictional sliding, as well as fretting fatigue. For material properties, a broad spectrum of microstructural conditions spanning nanocrystalline materials to commercial alloys are studied experimentally. These experimental studies are also accompanied by detailed, multi-scale computational modeling. In addition, strategies for improved in tribological properties by the introduction of controlled gradients in elastic and plastic properties, either through reinforcements or through grain size gradations, are explored. The presentation will conclude a summary of key advances in the area of instrumented contact mechanics and in the engineering of surfaces for improved contact-damage resistance.