At the Chair of Composite Materials under Professor Dr. Alois K. Schlarb at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TUK), researchers are developing new types of materials. Among other things, they are investigating how the service life can be increased under the influence of friction and wear. In this context, experts speak of tribology, the science of friction, wear and lubrication.

Various testing machines are used for this purpose, such as the pin-on-disc tribometer. A small rectangular sample (pin) is clamped in a holder. A metal disk is placed over it, which rests directly on the sample. The disk can rotate for several hours in this test stand. There are sensors on the device that measure the contact pressure and frictional force, and an infrared sensor also records the temperature. "We set the speed using a motor and the contact pressure of the disk using air pressure, and the temperature can also be regulated," says PhD student Sebastian Kamerling. "We use this technology to simulate different conditions that components are exposed to during operation," continues the engineer. "The measured values help us to see how the material pairing behaves. By this we mean the combination of a plastic base body with a metal counter body; simply put, a plastic-metal system."

The Kaiserslautern engineers have now developed a globally unique system for this test. "On the one hand, it controls the machine," continues Kamerling. "It recognizes when a constant phase is reached, i.e. when the wear phase that is relevant in practice begins and the actual measurement can start." Previously, this required manual control. The technology is also able to automatically set a new load level. What's more, the system evaluates the resulting data directly. "With our method, we can measure and analyze significantly more data in less time," the researcher continues. "This also helps us, for example, to characterize the properties of the material sample much more precisely."

The method is not only interesting for research, but also for industry, as such testing techniques play a role in many companies to determine material wear. The technology can help to make this work faster and more efficient. The testing effort is significantly reduced with the new method. Material and cost expenditure can also be reduced in this way.