Characterization of damage in galling testing of austenitic stainless steel as a function of pressure and sliding distance

Kóti, D; Daure, J L; Neate, N C; Stewart, D A; Shipway, P H

Abstract

It is well known that stainless steel is prone to galling, and in previous work, we have demonstrated that the degree of damage following galling tests in such materials is a function of both contact pressure and sliding distance. However, it is not clear if the same mechanisms operate across such tests. In the present work, the damage associated with galling of dissimilar stainless steel pairs (304 vs 316 pairs) as a function of contact pressure and sliding distance has been characterised. Tests utilised pairs in accord with the ASTM G196 geometry; contact pressures between 5 MPa and 50 MPa were employed with a range of sliding distances with the torque required for rotation being measured during the tests. Damage was characterized by profilometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and microscopy (including EBSD) of both the damaged surfaces and of cross-sections through damaged surfaces. It was shown that whilst the deformation-induced transformation to martensite occurred in all cases, it could not readily be used as a measure of galling intensity. However, the surface roughness (Sz) values increased with sliding distance across the range of contact pressure, with those at the higher contact pressure being significantly larger. The work provides new insights into the progression of wear and damage which results in what is termed 'galling' in a system which is prone to this. In particular, across the range of pressures examined, gross severe adhesive wear or 'galling' was observed to occur if the sliding distance is large enough; as such, it is argued that galling is simply a particular progression of adhesive wear often seen in severe sliding wear that has become gross enough to be visible by unassisted observation alone.

Citation

Kóti, D., Daure, J. L., Neate, N. C., Stewart, D. A., & Shipway, P. H. (2025). Characterization of damage in galling testing of austenitic stainless steel as a function of pressure and sliding distance. Wear, Article 205776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2025.205776

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jan 29, 2025
• Publication Date: Jan 29, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jan 10, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 30, 2026
• Journal: Wear
• Print ISSN: 0043-1648
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-2577
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Article Number: 205776
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2025.205776
• Keywords: Wear; Sliding; Ploughing; Grooving; Delamination; Transfer
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/43955107
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043164825000456?dgcid=author