Tribological performance and microstructural evolution of α-brass alloys as a function of zinc concentration

Zhilong LIU; Philipp MESSER-HANNEMANN; Stephan LAUBE; Christian GREINER

doi:10.1007/s40544-019-0345-8

Friction 2020, 8(6): 1117-1136 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-019-0345-8

Research Article |

Open Access | Issue | Published: 05 June 2020

Tribological performance and microstructural evolution of α-brass alloys as a function of zinc concentration

Show Author's Information Hide Author's Information Zhilong LIU^¹, Philipp MESSER-HANNEMANN^¹, Stephan LAUBE^¹, Christian GREINER^{¹^,²}(

)

1 Institute for Applied Materials (IAM), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe 76131, Germany

2 KIT IAM-CMS MikroTribologie Centrum µTC, Karlsruhe 76131, Germany

Keywords:

brass, tribology, sliding contact, microstructure, stacking fault energy, electron microscopy

Cite this article:

LIU Z, MESSER-HANNEMANN P, LAUBE S, et al. Tribological performance and microstructural evolution of α-brass alloys as a function of zinc concentration. Friction, 2020, 8(6): 1117-1136. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-019-0345-8

Download citation

EndNote(RIS)

BibTeX

544

Views

Downloads

Citations

Crossref

N/A

WoS

Scopus

CSCD

Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Abstract

Tailoring a material’s properties for low friction and little wear in a strategic fashion is a long-standing goal of materials tribology. Plastic deformation plays a major role when metals are employed in a sliding contact; therefore, the effects of stacking fault energy and mode of dislocation glide need to be elucidated. Here, we investigated how a decrease in the stacking fault energy affects friction, wear, and the ensuing sub-surface microstructure evolution. Brass samples with increasing zinc concentrations of 5, 15, and 36 wt% were tested in non-lubricated sphere-on-plate contacts with a reciprocating linear tribometer against Si₃N₄ spheres. Increasing the sliding distance from 0.5 (single trace) to 5,000 reciprocating cycles covered different stages in the lifetime of a sliding contact. Comparing the results among the three alloys revealed a profound effect of the zinc concentration on the tribological behavior. CuZn15 and CuZn36 showed similar friction and wear results, whereas CuZn5 had a roughly 60% higher friction coefficient (COF) than the other two alloys. CuZn15 and CuZn36 had a much smaller wear rate than CuZn5. Wavy dislocation motion in CuZn5 and CuZn15 allowed for dislocation self-organization into a horizontal line about 150 nm beneath the contact after a single trace of the sphere. This feature was absent in CuZn36 where owing to planar dislocation slip band-like features under a 45° angle to the surface were identified. These results hold the promise to help guide the future development of alloys tailored for specific tribological applications.

Full text

Abstract

Full text

Outline

Electronic supplementary material

About this article

Tribological performance and microstructural evolution of α-brass alloys as a function of zinc concentration

Show Author's information Hide Author's Information Zhilong LIU^¹, Philipp MESSER-HANNEMANN^¹, Stephan LAUBE^¹, Christian GREINER^{¹^,²}(

)

1 Institute for Applied Materials (IAM), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe 76131, Germany

2 KIT IAM-CMS MikroTribologie Centrum µTC, Karlsruhe 76131, Germany

Abstract

Keywords: brass, tribology, sliding contact, microstructure, stacking fault energy, electron microscopy

References(83)

[1]

K Holmberg, A Erdemir. Influence of tribology on global energy consumption, costs and emissions. Friction 5(3): 263-284 (2017)

Google Scholar

[2]

European Comission. Directive 2012/27/EU of the european parliament and of the council. Off J the Eur Union 315: 1-56 (2012)

Google Scholar

[3]

European Comission. Commission Proposes New Rules for Consumer Centred Clean Energy Transition. European Comission (2016).

[4]

R W Carpick, A Jackson, W G Sawyer, N Argibay, P Lee, A Pachon, R M Gresham. Can tribology save a quad. Tribol Lubr Technol 72: 44-45 (2016)

Google Scholar

[5]

European Comission. Commission directive 2011/37/EU. Off J the Eur Union 85: 3-7 (2011)

Google Scholar

[6]

European Comission. Directive 2000/53/EC. Off J the Eur Union 269: 34-43 (2000)

Google Scholar

[7]

S Laumann, R Jisa, G Deinhofer, F Franek. Tribological properties of brass materials and their application for cages in rolling bearings. Tribol-Mater, Surf Interfaces 8(1): 35-40 (2014)

Google Scholar

[8]

L Liu, Z C Zhang, M Dienwiebel. The running-in tribological behavior of Pb-free brass and its effect on microstructural evolution. Tribol Lett 65: 160 (2017)

Google Scholar

[9]

Y Taga, K Nakajima. Friction and wear of Cu-Zn alloys against stainless steel. Wear 37(2): 365-375 (1976)

Google Scholar

[10]

S Korres, T Feser, M Dienwiebel. In situ observation of wear particle formation on lubricated sliding surfaces. Acta Mater 60(1): 420-429 (2012)

Google Scholar

[11]

R K Paretkar, J P Modak, A V Ramarao. An approximate generalized experimental model for dry sliding adhesive wear of some single-phase copper-base alloys. Wear 197(1-2): 17-37 (1996)

Google Scholar

[12]

H Mindivan, H Çimenogˇlu, E S Kayali. Microstructures and wear properties of brass synchroniser rings. Wear 254(5-6): 532-537 (2003)

Google Scholar

[13]

T Liu. Sliding friction of copper. Wear 7(2): 163-174 (1964)

Google Scholar

[14]

E Marui, H Endo. Effect of reciprocating and unidirectional sliding motion on the friction and wear of copper on steel. Wear 249(7): 582-591 (2001)

Google Scholar

[15]

X Chen, Z Han, X Y Li, K Lu. Lowering coefficient of friction in Cu alloys with stable gradient nanostructures. Sci Adv 2(12): 1601942 (2016)

Google Scholar

[16]

X Chen, Z Han, K Lu. Enhancing wear resistance of Cu-Al alloy by controlling subsurface dynamic recrystallization. Scr Mater 101: 76-79 (2015)

Google Scholar

[17]

F A Sadykov, N P Barykin, I R Aslanyan. Wear of copper and its alloys with submicrocrystalline structure. Wear 225-229: 649-655 (1999)

Google Scholar

[18]

X L Kong, Y B Liu, L J Qiao. Dry sliding tribological behaviors of nanocrystalline Cu-Zn surface layer after annealing in air. Wear 256(7-8): 747-753 (2004)

Google Scholar

[19]

Z L Liu, C Patzig, S Selle, T Höche, P Gumbsch, C Greiner. Stages in the tribologically-induced oxidation of high-purity copper. Scr Mater 153: 114-117 (2018)

Google Scholar

[20]

D A Rigney, J P Hirth. Plastic deformation and sliding friction of metals. Wear 53(2): 345-370 (1979)

Google Scholar

[21]

D Shakhvorostov, K Pöhlmann, M Scherge. An energetic approach to friction, wear and temperature. Wear 257(1-2): 124-130 (2004)

Google Scholar

[22]

C Greiner, J Gagel, P Gumbsch. Solids under extreme shear: Friction-mediated subsurface structural transformations. Adv Mater 31(26): 1806705 (2019)

Google Scholar

[23]

D A Rigney, S Karthikeyan. The evolution of tribomaterial during sliding: A brief introduction. Tribol Lett 39(1): 3-7 (2010)

Google Scholar

[24]

F Ren, P Bellon, R S Averback. Nanoscale self-organization reaction in Cu-Ag alloys subjected to dry sliding and its impact on wear resistance. Tribol Int 100: 420-429 (2016)

Google Scholar

[25]

K Wolff, Z L Liu, D Braun, J Schneider, C Greiner. Chronology of the microstructure evolution for pearlitic steel under unidirectional tribological loading. Tribol Int 102: 540-545 (2016)

Google Scholar

[26]

C Greiner, Z L Liu, L Strassberger, P Gumbsch. Sequence of stages in the microstructure evolution in copper under mild reciprocating tribological loading. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 8(24): 15809-15819 (2016)

Google Scholar

[27]

F P Bowden, D Tabor. The Friction and Lubrication of Solids. Oxford (UK): Clarendon Press, 1950.

[28]

N Argibay, M Chandross, S Cheng, J R Michael. Linking microstructural evolution and macro-scale friction behavior in metals. J Mater Sci 52(5): 2780-2799 (2017)

Google Scholar

[29]

D A Rigney. Transfer, mixing and associated chemical and mechanical processes during the sliding of ductile materials. Wear 245(1-2): 1-9 (2000)

Google Scholar

[30]

J Li, M Elmadagli, V Y Gertsman, J Lo, A T Alpas. FIB and TEM characterization of subsurfaces of an Al-Si alloy (A390) subjected to sliding wear. Mater Sci Eng A 421(1-2): 317-327 (2006)

Google Scholar

[31]

A Emge, S Karthikeyan, H J Kim, D A Rigney. The effect of sliding velocity on the tribological behavior of copper. Wear 263(1-6): 614-618 (2007)

Google Scholar

[32]

A Emge, S Karthikeyan, D A Rigney. The effects of sliding velocity and sliding time on nanocrystalline tribolayer development and properties in copper. Wear 267(1-4): 562-567 (2009)

Google Scholar

[33]

Z P Luo, G P Zhang, R Schwaiger. Microstructural vortex formation during cyclic sliding of Cu/Au multilayers. Scr Mater 107: 67-70 (2015)

Google Scholar

[34]

M Pouryazdan, B J P Kaus, A Rack, A Ershov, H Hahn. Mixing instabilities during shearing of metals. Nat Commun 8(1): 1611 (2017)

Google Scholar

[35]

K Subramanian, J H Wu, D A Rigney. The role of vorticity in the formation of tribomaterial during sliding. In MRS Proceedings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

[36]

S Karthikeyan, H J Kim, D A Rigney. Velocity and strain-rate profiles in materials subjected to unlubricated sliding. Phys Rev Lett 95(10): 106001 (2005)

Google Scholar

[37]

N Beckmann, P A Romero, D Linsler, M Dienwiebel, U Stolz, M Moseler, P Gumbsch. Origins of folding instabilities on polycrystalline metal surfaces. Phys Rev Appl 2(6): 064004 (2014)

Google Scholar

[38]

T Feser, P Stoyanov, F Mohr, M Dienwiebel. The running-in mechanisms of binary brass studied by in-situ topography measurements. Wear 303(1-2): 465-472 (2013)

Google Scholar

[39]

A Moshkovich, V Perfilyev, I Lapsker, L Rapoport. Friction, wear and plastic deformation of cu and α/β brass under lubrication conditions. Wear 320: 34-40 (2014)

Google Scholar

[40]

L Balogh, T Ungár, Y H Zhao, Y T Zhu, Z Horita, C Xu, T G Langdon. Influence of stacking-fault energy on microstructural characteristics of ultrafine-grain copper and copper-zinc alloys. Acta Mater 56(4): 809-820 (2008)

Google Scholar

[41]

Y S Zhang, K Wang, Z Han, G Liu. Dry sliding wear behavior of copper with nano-scaled twins. Wear 262(11-12): 1463-1470 (2007)

Google Scholar

[42]

X Y Li, M Dao, C Eberl, A M Hodge, H Gao. Fracture, fatigue, and creep of nanotwinned metals. MRS Bull 41(4): 298-304 (2016)

Google Scholar

[43]

Z X Wu, Y W Zhang, D J Srolovitz. Dislocation-twin interaction mechanisms for ultrahigh strength and ductility in nanotwinned metals. Acta Mater 57(15): 4508-4518 (2009)

Google Scholar

[44]

A Singh, L Tang, M Dao, L Lu, S Suresh. Fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth characteristics of nanotwinned copper. Acta Mater 59(6): 2437-2446 (2011)

Google Scholar

[45]

J A Venables. The nucleation and propagation of deformation twins. J Phys Chem Solids 25(7): 693-700 (1964)

Google Scholar

[46]

Z R Wang. Cyclic deformation response of planar-slip materials and a new criterion for the wavy-to-planar-slip transition. Philos Mag 84(3-5): 351-379 (2004)

Google Scholar

[47]

V Gerold, H P Karnthaler. On the origin of planar slip in f.c.c. Alloys. Acta Metall 37(8): 2177-2183 (1989)

Google Scholar

[48]

P C J Gallagher. The influence of alloying, temperature, and related effects on the stacking fault energy. Metall Trans 1(9): 2429-2461 (1970)

Google Scholar

[49]

A Staroselsky, L Anand. Inelastic deformation of polycrystalline face centered cubic materials by slip and twinning. J Mech Phys Solids 46(4): 671-673, 675-696 (1998)

Google Scholar

[50]

P J Blau. A study of the interrelationships among wear, friction and microstructure in the unlubricated sliding of copper and several single-phase copper alloys. Ph.D. Thesis. Columbus (USA): The Ohio State University, 1979.

[51]

N P Suh, N Saka. The stacking fault energy and delamination wear of single-phase f.c.c. metals. Wear 44(1): 135-143 (1977)

Google Scholar

[52]

A Fischer, S Weiß, M A Wimmer. The tribological difference between biomedical steels and cocrmo-alloys. J Mech Beh Biomed Mater 9: 50-62 (2012)

Google Scholar

[53]

K J Bhansali, A E Miller. The role of stacking fault energy on galling and wear behavior. Wear 75(2): 241-252 (1982)

Google Scholar

[54]

J J Wert, S A Singerman, S G Caldwell, R A Quarles. The role of stacking fault energy and induced residual stresses on the sliding wear of aluminum bronze. Wear 91(3): 253-267 (1983)

Google Scholar

[55]

H G Feller, B Gao. Correlation of tribological and metal physics data: The role of stacking fault energy. Wear 132(1): 1-7 (1989)

Google Scholar

[56]

J Friedel. Dislocations. Oxford (UK): Pergamon Press, 1964.

[57]

R Labusch. A statistical theory of solid solution hardening. Phys Status Solidi B 41(2): 659-669 (1970)

Google Scholar

[58]

E O Hall. The deformation and ageing of mild steel: III discussion of results. Proc Phys Soc Sect B 64(9): 747-753 (1951)

Google Scholar

[59]

N J Petch. The cleavage strength of polycrystals. J Iron Steel Inst 174(1): 25-28 (1953)

Google Scholar

[60]

G T Beilby. Surface flow in crystalline solids under mechanical disturbance. Proc Roy Soc Lond 72: 218-225 (1903)

Google Scholar

[61]

C Greiner, M Schäfer, U Popp, P Gumbsch. Contact splitting and the effect of dimple depth on static friction of textured surfaces. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 6(11): 7986-7990 (2014)

Google Scholar

[62]

X Chen, R Schneider, P Gumbsch, C Greiner. Microstructure evolution and deformation mechanisms during high rate and cryogenic sliding of copper. Acta Mater 161: 138-149 (2018)

Google Scholar

[63]

C Greiner, Z L Liu, R Schneider, L Pastewka, P Gumbsch. The origin of surface microstructure evolution in sliding friction. Scr Mater 153: 63-67 (2018)

Google Scholar

[64]

J Mayer, L A Giannuzzi, T Kamino, J Michael. TEM sample preparation and FIB-induced damage. MRS Bull 32(5): 400-407 (2007)

Google Scholar

[65]

P J Blau. On the nature of running-in. Tribol Int 38(11-12): 1007-1012 (2005)

Google Scholar

[66]

P J Blau. Running-in: Art or engineering?. J Mater Eng 13(1): 47-53 (1991)

Google Scholar

[67]

P J Blau. Friction Science and Technology: From Concepts to Applications. 2nd edn. Boca Raton (USA): CRC Press, 2009.

[68]

J J Wert, W M Cook. The influence of stacking fault energy and adhesion on the wear of copper and aluminum bronze. Wear 123(2): 171-192 (1988)

Google Scholar

[69]

J F Archard. Contact and rubbing of flat surfaces. J Appl Phys 24(8): 981-988 (1953)

Google Scholar

[70]

I Khader, A Hashibon, J M Albina, A Kailer. Wear and corrosion of silicon nitride rolling tools in copper rolling. Wear 271(9-10): 2531-2541 (2011)

Google Scholar

[71]

G Akdogan, T A Stolarski. Wear in metal/silicon nitride sliding pairs. Ceram Int 29(4): 435-446 (2003)

Google Scholar

[72]

S H Yao, Y L Su, W H Kao, T H Liu. Tribology and oxidation behavior of TiN/AlN nano-multilayer films. Tribol Int 39(4): 332-341 (2006)

Google Scholar

[73]

F H Stott. The role of oxidation in the wear of alloys. Tribol Int 31(1-3): 61-71 (1998)

Google Scholar

[74]

C N Panagopoulos, E P Georgiou, K Simeonidis. Lubricated wear behavior of leaded α+β brass. Tribol Int 50: 1-5 (2012)

Google Scholar

[75]

C P Dogˇan, J A Hawk. Microstructure and abrasive wear in silicon nitride ceramics. Wear 250(1-12): 256-263 (2001)

Google Scholar

[76]

J Gagel, D Weygand, P Gumbsch. Formation of extended prismatic dislocation structures under indentation. Acta Mater 111: 399-406 (2016)

Google Scholar

[77]

J Gagel, D Weygand, P Gumbsch. Discrete dislocation dynamics simulations of dislocation transport during sliding. Acta Mater 156: 215-227 (2018)

Google Scholar

[78]

D Hull, D J Bacon. Introduction to Dislocations. Oxford (USA): Butterworth-Heinemann, 2011.

[79]

G M Hamilton. Explicit equations for the stresses beneath a sliding spherical contact. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part C J Mech Eng Sci 197(1): 53-59 (1983)

Google Scholar

[80]

D A Hughes, N Hansen. Graded nanostructures produced by sliding and exhibiting universal behavior. Phys Rev Lett 87(13): 135503 (2001)

Google Scholar

[81]

D A Hughes, N Hansen. Exploring the limit of dislocation based plasticity in nanostructured metals. Phys Rev Lett 112(13): 135504 (2014)

Google Scholar

[82]

P Heilmann, W A T Clark, D A Rigney. Orientation determination of subsurface cells generated by sliding. Acta Metall 31(8): 1293-1305 (1983)

Google Scholar

[83]

D A Rigney, W A Glaeser. The significance of near surface microstructure in the wear process. Wear 46(1): 241-250 (1978)

Google Scholar

Electronic supplementary material

File

40544_2019_345_MOESM1_ESM.pdf (6.6 MB)

About this article

Publication history

Acknowledgements

Rights and permissions

Publication history

Received: 05 August 2019

Revised: 02 November 2019

Accepted: 22 November 2019

Published: 05 June 2020

Issue date: December 2020

Copyright

Acknowledgements

Christian GREINER acknowledges funding by the German Research Foundation under Project GR 4174/1 and by the European Research Council (ERC) under Grant No. 771237, TriboKey. The authors thank Dr. Johannes SCHNEIDER for discussion and a critical reading of the manuscript.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.