Investigation of fretting wear behavior of Inconel 690 alloy in tube/plate contact configuration

Fretting wear tests of Inconel 690 alloy have been carried out at various temperatures (room temperature – RT, 90°C, 200°C and 285°C) for tube/plate contact configuration. The worn surfaces and cross-sectional morphologies were observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). Moreover, a particular debris cleaning method was used to remove wear particles of worn Inconel 690 alloy effectively in order to estimate exact wear volume. Overall, the results indicated that temperature had a great impact on fretting wear behavior and wear mechanisms. With increase in temperature, the principal wear mechanisms changed from delamination wear to the combination of delamination and adhesive wear, as demonstrated by the presence of an adhesive transfer layer at 285°C, instead of a compacted debris bed at 90°C. The adhesive transfer layer seemed to protect the surfaces better due to a reduction in the interaction of the worn surfaces. Finally, higher friction coefficient and wear volume appeared at lower temperature (RT to 90°C), compared to that associated with higher temperature (200°C and 285°C). •A chemistry cleaning method was used to remove the wear particles.•A model was proposed to describe wear mechanisms and temperature.•Adhesive wear played a significant role in wear above 200°C.