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Introduction FRETTING is a special wear process that occurs at the contact area between two materials under load and subject to slight relative movement by vibration or some other force. Damage begins with local adhesion between mating surfaces and progresses when adhered particles are removed from a surface. When adhered particles are removed from the surface, they may react with air or other corrosive environments. Affected surfaces show pits or grooves with surrounding corrosion products. On ferrous metals, corrosion product is usually a very fine, reddish iron oxide; on aluminum, it is usually black. The debris from fretting of noble metals does not oxidize. Under fretting conditions, fatigue strength or endurance limits can be reduced by as much as 50 to 70% during fatigue testing (e.g., see Fig. 1a). During fretting fatigue, cracks can initiate at very low stresses, well below the fatigue limit of nonfretted specimens. In fatigue without fretting, the initiation of small cracks can represent 90% of the total component life. The wear mode known as fretting can cause surface microcrack initiation within the first several thousand cycles, significantly reducing the component life. Additionally, cracks due to fretting are usually hidden by the contacting components and are not easily detected. If conditions are favorable for continued propagation of cracks initiated by fretting, catastrophic failure can occur (Fig. 1b). As such, prevention of fretting fatigue is essential in the design process by eliminating or reducing slip between mated surfaces.

Fig. 1 (a) Comparison of fatigue life for 4130 steel under fretting and nonfretting conditions. Specimens were water quenched from 900 C (1650 F), tempered 1 h at 450 C (840 F), and tested in tensiontension fatigue. Normal stress was 48.3 MPa (7 ksi); slip amplitude was 30 to 40 catastrophic failure due to fretting of a flanged joint m. (b) Example of

The initiation of fatigue cracks in fretted regions depends mainly on the state of stress in the surface, particularly stresses caused by high friction. The direction of growth of the fatigue cracks is associated with the direction of contact stresses and takes place in a direction perpendicular to the maximum principal stress in the fretting area. After formation due to fretting, cracks propagate initially under shear (mode II) conditions under the influence of the near-surface shear stress field due to friction of fretting. Beyond that, tensile (mode I) crack propagation under bulk cyclic stresses controls further propagation.

Because mode I bulk crack propagation is covered in detail throughout this Volume, this article focuses on what, if any, measures the design engineer has at his or her command to avoid or minimize crack initiation and fretting fatigue. The topics covered in this article are: Mechanisms of fretting and fretting fatigue Typical occurrences of fretting fatigue Fretting fatigue testing Prevention methods

Many investigators have contributed to the theoretical and practical research in the field of fretting and fretting fatigue, and the information in this section is derived from their work. Several general texts are available (Ref 1, 2, 3, and 4). Reference 5 is another key source for information and illustrations of fretting fatigue failures. In addition, more current discussions and background are also provided in the book Fretting Fatigue (R.B. Waterhouse and T.C. Lindley, Ed.), ESIS, Mechanical Engineering Publications, 1994. The article "On Fretting Maps" by O. Vingsbo and S. Sderberg (Wear, Vol 126, 1988, p 131-147) is another useful general reference on fretting. As yet, general techniques or models permitting prediction of crack initiation due to fretting are limited. However, an understanding of the factors contributing to fretting fatigue can help minimize the risk and extent of damage. The examples presented in this article from case studies, theoretical work, and laboratory investigations are intended to assist the reader in recognizing the potential for fretting fatigue in design and materials selection. General principles and practical methods for the abatement or elimination of fretting fatigue are summarized in Table 1. Table 1 Reduction or elimination of fretting fatigue
Principle of abatement or mitigation

Practical method

Reduction in surface shear forces

Reduction in surface normal forces

Reduction in coefficient of friction with coating or lubricants

Reduction/elimination of stress concentrations Large radii

Material removal (grooving)

Compliant spacers

Introduction of surface compressive stress

Shot or bead blasting

Interference fit

Nitriding/heat treatment

Elimination of relative motion

Increase in surface normal load

Increase in coefficient of friction

Separation of surfaces

Rigid spacers

Coatings

Compliant spacers

Elimination of fretting condition

Drive oscillatory bearing

Remove material from fretting contact (pin joints)

Separation of surfaces (compliant spacers)

Improved wear resistance

Surface hardening

Ion implantation

Soft coatings

Slippery coatings

Reduction of corrosion

Anaerobic sealants

Soft or anodic coatings