Abstract
Thanks to their outstanding mechanical properties, Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMGs) are new alternatives to traditional crystalline metals for mechanical and micromechanical applications including power transmission. However, the tribological properties of BMGs are still poorly understood, mostly because their amorphous nature induces counter intuitive responses to friction and wear. In the present study, four different BMGs (Cu47Zr46Al7, Zr46Cu45Al7Nb2, Zr60Cu28Al12, and Zr61Cu25Al12Ti2) underwent ball-on-disc friction tests against 100Cr6 steel balls (American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) 52100) at different relative humidities (RHs) ranging from 20% to 80%. Controlling humidity enabled to observe a high repeatability of the friction and wear responses of the BMG. Interestingly, the friction coefficient decreased by a factor of 2 when the humidity was increased, and the wear rate of BMGs was particularly low thanks to a 3rd-body tribolayer that forms on the BMG surface, composed of oxidized wear particles originating from the ball. The morphology of this tribolayer is highly correlated to humidity. The study also identifies how the tribolayer is built up from the initial contact until the steady state is achieved.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the EUR EIPHI Graduate School (ANR-17-EURE-0002). The authors are thankful for the financial support provided by the French National Research Agency (ANR) (ANR-19-CE08-0015). The authors thank Olivier HEINTZ and Anna KRYSTIANIAK (ICB lab at Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France) for providing the XPS spectrums, Marina RASCHETTI (Femto-ST Institute, France) for her help in using software Mountains® (Digital Surf), Peter SERLES (the NanoMechanics and Materials Laboratory at University of Toronto, Canada) for English spelling and grammar corrections, and the technology center MIMENTO (Femto-ST Institute, France).
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Solène BARLEMONT. She received her master’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of Technology of Compiègne, France, in 2020. She is performing her Ph.D. degree at Femto-ST Institute, France, since 2020. Her main interests concern the behavior of Bulk Metallic Glasses during tribological solicitations.
Paul LAFFONT. He received his master degree in functional advanced materials and engineering from both Grenoble-INP Phelma, France, and Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, in 2020. He is now performing his Ph.D. degree at the SIMaP laboratory, France. His main interests concern the elaboration and thermal treatments of metallic glasses in order to assess the tribological behavior.
Rémi DAUDIN. He received his Ph.D. degree in condensed matter physics from the Grenoble University, France, in 2012, for his studies on the metallic liquid structure at a liquid/solid interface. He continued with a three-year post-doc position at SIMaP laboratory, France, in the field of in situ X-ray tomography during the solidification of metal-matrix nano-composites. After a one-year position at Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, on metallic glass thin films, he joined the SIMaP laboratory, France, in 2017, where his main interests concern the relationship between the structural state, the deformation mechanisms, and the mechanical properties of metallic glasses.
Alexis LENAIN. He received a Ph.D. degree in metallurgy at the SIMaP laboratory, France, in 2017, focused on learning about the chemistry of metallic glasses. His research focused on developing new alloys combining several functional properties such as low thermal conductivity and good mechanical properties. He also worked alongside with his Ph.D. director Sebastien GRAVIER to promote the research work carried out so far on the shaping processes to create Vulkam: a deeptech start up in metallurgy. Vulkam’s ambition is to promote new highly functional alloys in the industry of watches and medical devices, using its proprietary unique process and its ability to develop specific metallic glasses. He is now in charge of the development of the new range of alloys and the elaboration process.
Guillaume COLAS. He received his Ph.D. degree in tribology from INSA Lyon, France, in 2013, for his work on the tribology of dry lubricants for space applications and the effect of the space environments on friction and wear. He pursued his research with 5 years postdoctoral position, first at INSA Lyon, France (8 months), on the tribology of self-lubricating composite materials for space applications, then at University of Toronto, Canada, to work on the nanomechanics and nanotribology of MoS2-based coatings and two-dimensional (2D) materials (graphene, graphene oxides, MoS2, and WS2) in controlled environment. He joined Institut FEMTO-ST, France, in 2018, first as a postdoctoral research fellow, then as a CNRS researcher from October 2018. His main interests are the tribology of dry and dry-lubricated contacts as a function of working environments and the micro- and nano-mechanical properties of the resulting interfacial material.
Pierre-Henri CORNUAULT. He received his master degree in mechanical engineering from University of Technology of Compiègne, France, in 2003, his postgraduate degree in Materials Science from University of Lyon, France, in 2004, and obtained his Ph.D. degree in tribology from Ecole Centrale de Lyon, France, in 2008. He is currently an associate professor in Materials Science at the University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France. His research focuses on the tribological behavior of dry contacts with a special interest in the dynamics of the interface renewal and the characterization of surface modifications during friction.
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Barlemont, S., Laffont, P., Daudin, R. et al. Strong dependency of the tribological behavior of CuZr-based bulk metallic glasses on relative humidity in ambient air. Friction 11, 785–800 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-022-0680-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-022-0680-z