SBIR-STTR Award

Successful completion of the proposed Phase I work outlined and follow-on Phase II work will provide a system to rank existing materials and coatings for severe wear applications. In addition, the ranking system can be utilized to identify desirable properties in new materials and/or coatings that could be developed for specific severe wear applications. The validated system resulting from the Phase II effort will utilize severe application models on which work was initiated separately by the Air Force Institute of Technology and by C-K Technologies LLC prior to initiating this Phase I proposal. Further refinement and validation of previously developed wear models will be undertaken during the proposed Phase I and Phase II programs. The system will utilize a novel severe wear test fixture design that was identified and evaluated in concept in prior work. However, it should be noted that substantial effort will be undertaken during the Phase II program to develop a design having greater capability in terms of speeds and loads than the present device.

Benefit:
Successful completion of the proposed work will result in a basic understanding and ability to quantify the effect of operating and environmental parameters and material properties on the wear rates of members in sliding contact. This technology can be utilized to reduce development costs and achieve acceptable durability of devices in which severe wear conditions occur. Such conditions exist in military applications (Air Force high-speed sled slipper/rail systems, rail gun projective/rail systems) and commercial applications (diesel engine valve seats, steel rolling mills, etc.).

Keywords:
Hyper Velocity Track Extreme Wear Resistance

The proposal outlines work and time tables associated with finalizing the development of wear model concepts developed in Phase I work to predict the wear of two materials sliding with respect to each other while being subjected to high velocities and/or high pressures. In parallel with this, a severe wear bench test fixture design will be finalized, built, and utilized to validate the severe wear model, which will be further developed to a state where it can be easily utilized to predict wear for a range of materials and material systems. The final result will represent a significant expansion of the capability to model, validate, and utilize technology to select material for severe wear applications.

Benefit:
Severe wear applications exist in a range of components within various mechanical systems utilized in commercial devices. A few examples of these from the many existing are valve seats and valve faces in internal combustion engines, railroad wheels and track surfaces, and sliding surfaces in various lawn and cutting devices. Presently the selection and application of materials for severe wear applications is based on experience (which may not result in the use of an optimum material system) and/or trial and error. Both methods result in significant cost. An effective severe wear model and validating bench test fixture would result in substantial cost savings in the development of such products.

Keywords:
hyper velocity track extreme wear resistance