Novel Super-Elastic Materials for Advanced Bearing Applications

Abstract

Tribological surfaces of mechanical components encounter harsh conditions in terrestrial, marine and aerospace environments. Brinell denting, abrasive wear and fatigue often lead to life-limiting bearing and gear failures. Novel superelastic materials based upon Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) alloys are an emerging solution. NiTi alloys are intermetallic materials that possess characteristics of both metals and ceramics. NiTi alloys have intrinsically good aqueous corrosion resistance (they cannot rust), high hardness, relatively low elastic modulus, are chemically inert and readily lubricated. NiTi alloys also belong to the family of superelastics and, despite high hardness, are able to withstand large strains without suffering permanent plastic deformation. In this paper, the use of a hard, resilient NiTi alloy for corrosion-proof, shockproof bearing and gear applications is presented. Through a series of bearing and gear development projects, it is demonstrated that NiTi’s unique blend of material properties lead to significantly improved load capacity, reduced weight and intrinsic corrosion resistance not found in any other bearing materials. NiTi thus represents a new materials solution to demanding tribological applications.