RIC3 - Radio Isotope Concentration methode

Use of device

continuous wear measurement in the range of nm/h by means of activated components in real and model systems

Basic function

the components of a tribological system are activated in a cyclotron; the wear particles produced by the tribological process are transported to a detector via a lubricant circuit attached to the tribosystem; the amount of wear is determined from the measured activity throughout the period of operation

Result of analysis

wear depth and wear volume during operation

Goal of analysis

prediction of lifetime, wear resistance of components; wear protection due to lubricant properties

Technical specification

Sample requirement

activation of components

Light scattering system

Use of device

non-contact characterisation of surfaces

Basic function

during the measurement, an LED light source projects a tight spot of light of approximately 1 mm² onto the surface; the distribution of the back-scattered light directly depends on the topography of the surface

Result of analysis

form, waviness and roughness of tribological surfaces

Goal of analysis

quality control and process monitoring for surface finishing processes

Technical specification

measuring spot diameter: 0.9 mm (0.3 mm on request); measurement speed: < 2000 m/s; insensitive to working distance (+/- 1 mm)

Sample requirement

reflectivity

high speed camera

Use of device

analysis of dynamic processes

Basic function

recording of film sequences with subsequent evaluation of trajectories, speeds, etc.

Result of analysis

motion trajectory and relative velocity

Goal of analysis

visualise short time events; capture the dynamic kinetic behaviour

Technical specification

< 33.000 frames/second

Sample requirement

size: 500 x 500 µm up to 2 x 2 m

high speed infrared camera

Use of device

configurable infrared camera with high thermal sensitivity and special resolution as well as maximum speed for non-contact temperature measurements; especially for fundamental research and industrial tasks

Basic function

multispectral infrared (IR) radiation analysis (short wave or long wave IR region) of the test object

Result of analysis

high speed thermal imaging video

Goal of analysis

heat disspation and propagation in tribological contacts

Technical specification

temperature range: 0 - 2500 °C; recording speed (full frame): < 100 frames/second

Sample requirement

working distance: > 14 cm; lateral frame size: 2 x 2.5 cm (up to infinite)

Acoustic emission measurement system

Use of device

measurement of the acoustic emission from tribological systems; highly sensitive detection of microcracks, microstructural changes and other friction-induced effects

Basic function

piezoelectric

Result of analysis

local high-frequency vibrations in tribocontacts; friction; detection of crack formation; particle breakouts and micro-structural changes

Goal of analysis

condition monitoring; investigation of "hard-to-watch" tribocontacts; assessment of coatings

Technical specification

frequency range: 20 kHz - 3 MHz; flat frequency response; sensitivity: 10 - 100 V/(m/s)

Sample requirement

> 0.25 cm² flat surface on specimen or specimen holder

Free-field microphone system

Use of device

noise emission measurement during tribological experiments

Basic function

capacitive

Result of analysis

noise emission of tribological systems; vibrations of tribological systems

Goal of analysis

optimisation of tribological systems with regard to noise emissions

Technical specification

sensitivity: 50 mV/Pa; frequency: 6.3 Hz - 20 kHz; dynamic range: 14.6 - 146 dB

Sample requirement

Accelerometer system

Use of device

accelerometers and high-performance microphone to characterise the vibrations occurring during tribological experiments

Basic function

piezoelectric

Result of analysis

vibrations of tribological systems

Goal of analysis

optimisation of tribological systems with regard to noise emissions

Technical specification

frequency: 0,3 - 6000 Hz; sensitivity: 100 mV/g; operation range (peak) < 140 g; resonance frequency 18 kHz; shock range (peak) < 5000 g

Sample requirement

> 1 cm² flat surface on specimen or specimen holder

System of eddy current sensors

Use of device

eddy current sensors for displacement in the nm range

Basic function

the eddy current principle is used in applications with measurements on electrically conductive materials which may have ferromagnetic or non-ferromagnetic properties

Result of analysis

non-contact measurement of distances, displacements, positions, vibration and oscillation of any electrically-conductive target

Goal of analysis

wear height measurements

Technical specification

high precision and resolution; non-contact and wear-free; insensitive to dirt; suitable for fast applications

Sample requirement

electrically-conductive target

System of confocal chromatic sensors

Use of device

measurement of displacement, position, thickness

Basic function

with the confocal chromatic measurement method white light is split into different spectra by lenses and focused on an object through a multi-lens optical system; the optics are arranged in such a way, that the light is refracted via controlled chromatic aberrations into displacement-dependant monochromatic wavelengths

Result of analysis

displacement, position, thickness

Goal of analysis

wear height measurements; film thickness measurement

Technical specification

measuring ranges: 0.12 - 24 mm; linearity < 0.12 µm; resolution < 0.005 µm; extremely small and constant spot size; high precision measurement, including mirrors and glass; nanometre resolution; one-sided thickness-measurement; detection of smallest micro-cracks

Sample requirement

reflectivity

Particle sizing

Use of device

determination of the size of metallic particles in lubricants, aqueous solutions, and emulsions

Basic function

detection of particles by dark field visualization and sizing based on tracking of Brownian motion

Result of analysis

particle load in liquid samples; amount of wear in lubricants; aggregation/sedimentation behaviour; emulsion stability

Goal of analysis

measuring the particle size/concentration in liquid samples, e.g. wear particles in engine oil or metal working fluids

Technical specification

detection range: approx. 100 nm - 5 µm for most metal particles; > 300 nm for weakly scattering materials (polymers, biological species)

Sample requirement

liquid sample of known temperature dependant viscosity; sample amount typically 0.1-1 mL

Single-axis model switch

Use of device

investigation on switching behaviour under variation of kinetic parameters and contact materials

Basic function

measurement of contact force, contact position (dynamic) and contact voltage

Result of analysis

contact welding, material transfer, contact voltage, contact material

Goal of analysis

information on the influence of certain kinetic parameters on contact welding behaviour, contact voltage and material transfer behaviour

Technical specification

230 VAC or < 60 VDC, inrush current about 100 A

Sample requirement

rivets, piston diameter 1.5 mm

Single-axis miniature model switch

Use of device

investigation on switching behaviour of contact profiles used in signal relays

Basic function

measurement of contact force, contact position (dynamic) and contact voltage

Result of analysis

contact welding, material transfer, contact voltage, contact material

Goal of analysis

information on the influence of certain kinetic parameters on contact welding behaviour, contact voltage and material transfer behaviour

Technical specification

60 VDC, inrush current about 40 A

Sample requirement

profiles, cross-section 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm

Dual-axis relay model switch

Use of device

investigation on the opening capability of switchgear designs

Basic function

independent control of two definite axes

Result of analysis

opening capability of relay designs

Goal of analysis

generally valid information about the opening capability

Technical specification

60 VDC, inrush current about 40 A

Sample requirement

rivets, piston diameter 1.5 mm

Dual-axis model switch

Use of device

investigation of switching behaviour under variation of kinetic parameters and contact materials

Basic function

measurement of contact force in normal and tangential direction

Result of analysis

contact welding, material transfer, contact voltage, contact material

Goal of analysis

information on the influence of certain kinetic parameters (especially tangential movement) on contact welding and material transfer behaviour

Technical specification

60 VDC, inrush current about 40 A

Sample requirement

rivets, piston diameter 1.5 mm

Test rig for investigations of the contact tolerance of organic vapours

Use of device

investigation of outgassing products of plastics, life-time test of signal relays

Basic function

measurement of the contact voltage via transient recorder

Result of analysis

contact compatibility and reliability of plastics

Goal of analysis

investigation of application possibilities of plastics for relay housings

Technical specification

4 relays parallel; 1 microsecond per channel

Sample requirement

granulate

Pendulum-Scratcher

Use of device

Producing micrometer scratches (amongst others to produce short acoustic emissions)

Basic function

At an oscillating pandulum with a length of 1 m, a tip (e.g. a insert tip) can be mounted at the end, whitch creates, at the low mark of the oszillation, a scratch on the sample

Result of analysis

Measurement of the acoustic emissions, unadulterated of reflexions, of modelled tribologic single-events (scratches)

Goal of analysis

Recording oft the originally acoutic emissions of modelled tribologic events

Technical specification

Sample requirement

sheets with thin, upright edge

RIC3 - Radio Isotope Concentration methode

Use of device

continuous wear measurement in the range of nm/h by means of activated components in real and model systems

Basic function

the components of a tribological system are activated in a cyclotron; the wear particles produced by the tribological process are transported to a detector via a lubricant circuit attached to the tribosystem; the amount of wear is determined from the measured activity throughout the period of operation

Result of analysis

wear depth and wear volume during operation

Goal of analysis

prediction of lifetime, wear resistance of components; wear protection due to lubricant properties

Technical specification

Sample requirement

activation of components

RIC5 - Radio Isotope Concentration Methode

Use of device

continuous wear measurement in the range of nm/h by means of activated components in real and model systems

Basic function

the components of a tribological system are activated in a cyclotron; the wear particles produced by the tribological process are transported to a detector via a lubricant circuit attached to the tribosystem; the amount of wear is determined from the measured activity throughout the period of operation

Result of analysis

wear depth and wear volume during operation

Goal of analysis

prediction of lifetime, wear resistance of components; wear protection due to lubricant properties

Technical specification

Sample requirement

activation of components

High Frequency Measurement System

Use of device

Machine learning can be seen as main field of application, whereat amongst others acoustic emissions emanating from tribologic constacts are measured (structure-borne noise measurement) and handled online; basically it could be used for every analogue voltage measurement at the specified voltage - and frequency range, respectively

Basic function

Result of analysis

Machine Learning: Identification of wear type, Prediction of end of lifetime

Goal of analysis

Technical specification

PC: Betriebssystem: Windows 10Processor: XEONRAM: 64 GBMeasurement Card:-) 4 simultaneous analog input channels-) 16-bit resolution A/D converter-) 125 MS/s maximum sampling rate-) 4-Order 20MHz filter-) 2 GB onboard storage memory-) Auto calibration

Sample requirement