Investigation of a novel rolling contact fatigue/wear competitive life test machine faced to surface coating

A novel rolling contact fatigue (RCF)/wear competitive life test machine based on double-roll mechanism was designed to investigate the RCF/wear failure mode and predict the competitive life regularity of surface coatings. The test machine was designed for variable slip ratio to simulate the complex service conditions. The failure can be monitored using signals which are acquired from acoustic emission (AE) of the contacting rollers. In the experimental studies, the typical morphologies of RCF damage such as pits, surface abrasion, and delamination were observed. The effectiveness of the AE signals used as a RCF failure monitoring tool was analyzed. The P–N and P–S–N plots were established to predict the life regularity of surface coatings.