Study of the Frictional Surface Damage Using Acoustic Emission Method

In this study, the change at rubbing surfaces has been investigated experimentally using an acoustic emission signal monitoring system. A steel ring is slipped on the surface of  a metallic sheet to simulate frictional conditions. The mechanical disturbances caused by the movement of the ring produce stress waves propagating along the sheet surface. The out of plane displacement of the sheet surface is sensed by a piezoelectric sensor. The electrical signal of the sensor output is received and used to analyze the frictional conditions between rubbing surfaces. The experimental results show that the effect of different frictional parameters such as normal load, surface material and lubrication on the surface damages can be recognized by analyzing the acoustic emission signals. For example, vanishing of the thin lubricant film between the two rubbing surfaces can be distinguished from the damage signals which are appeared with specific range of frequencies and amplitudes. The sensitivity of acoustic emission to detect frictional damages is considerably higher than that of monitoring of the friction coefficient.