Scuffing: From Basic Understanding

to Engine Materials Testing*

Peter J. Blau
Materials Science and Technology Division
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge, Tennessee USA

DEER Conference
Detroit, MI – August 2007
* Research sponsored by DOE/ EERE / OFCVT:
“Durability of Diesel Engine Components”

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 Definitions for Scuffing

‰ Swedish skuffa – ‘to push’

‰ Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, 3rd ed.: “to walk without lifting

the feet; to poke or shuffle a foot in exploration or
embarrassment; to become scratched, chipped, or roughened by
wear.”

‰ ASTM Terminology standard G40: scuffing – a form of wear

occurring in inadequately-lubricated tribosystems that is
characterized by macroscopically observable changes in texture,
with features related to the direction of motion.”

Operational definition: “I’ll know it when I see it.”

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 Characteristics of Scuffing

‰ Scuffing can roughen a surface with Zirconia on 304 SS (600o C)

no net loss of material (not ‘wear’).

‰ Can smooth an initially rough surface.
‰ Need not be progressive (one cycle).
‰ In machinery (engines), scuffing is
associated with inadequate or failed
lubrication.
‰ Occurs non-uniformly. Can start at one place on a surface and
spread to another after continued operation.
‰ Can lead to seizure (incipient galling) in tight-tolerance components.
‰ Scuffing damage is difficult to measure in a quantitative way.

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 Historical Attempts to Define Critical
Scuffing Criteria
1/ 2
‰ ‘Plasticity Index’ (Greenwood and Williamson, ⎛ E ' ⎞⎛⎜ σ ⎞⎟
*
PRS, 1966). ψ = ⎜ ⎟⎜ ⎟
⎝ H ⎠⎝ R ⎠

‰ Modified Plasticity Index (Whitehouse and 1/ 2

⎛ E ' ⎞⎛⎜ σ ⎞⎟
*
Archard, PRS, 1970). ψ = 0.06⎜ ⎟⎜ * ⎟
⎝ H ⎠⎝ β ⎠

‰ ‘Film thickness ratio’ L (Beerbower, ASLE Λ=

h
Trans., 1971) σc

β∗ (autocorrelation function) is measure of surface randomness, β* = 0 when

surface heights are random; β* =1 for a flat, smooth surface)

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 Some Problems with Critical Scuffing
Criteria based solely on Mechanics

‰ Surface roughness rarely remains constant once relative motion

begins (break-in, wear-in). Plasticity indices cannot easily
accommodate the consequences of time-dependent changes in
roughness and texture during continued contact.
‰ Plasticity models ignore the important effects of the lubricant
chemistry (Park and Ludema, Wear, 1994)
‰ Testing approaches to oil additive formulation are based on
lubricant properties. Tests keeps the material combination and
surface conditions constant.

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 Current Scuffing Tests Popularly Use
Stepped Loading to Determine Critical Loads

‰ Stepped loading does not simulate actual

component conditions.
‰ Dwell times at each load allow subsurface
damage to accumulate and may not produce the
L
same result as if load were held constant for the
same time but at the level that induced scuffing.
μ
‰ Stepped loading tests do not address the issue of
t localized initiation and propagation of scuffing
damage.
‰ Stepped tests often use unidirectional sliding but
many key engine components reciprocate (e.g.,
pistons, fuel injectors, actuators, valve guides)
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 Some ASTM Standards Used to Quantify
Scuffing-Related Performance of Oils

‰ ASTM D5182: “Standard test method for the scuffing load capacity of
oils (FZG visual method)” ( Example of step loading )
‰ Motor-driven gear set uses twelve 15-minute test stages with
examinations after each one.
‰ Document shows sample images of polishing, scuffing, and scoring
to estimate the extent of damage
‰ “Failure” occurs when total width of scuffing or scoring damage for
all 16 teeth on the test gear ≥ the width of one tooth (20 mm).
Metric: the ‘failure load’ stage.
‰ ASTM D6078 Ball-on-Cylinder Lubricant Evaluation (BOCLE)
‰ ASTM D6425 Optimal SRV Test – high-speed linear oscillation

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 ORNL’s Approach to Scuffing Measurement
Case Study I: Fuel Injector Plungers

‰ Develop a convenient bench-scale laboratory test that

does not rely on stepped loading, but characterizes the time-
dependent progression of damage on a contact surface.
‰ Flexibility to use either experimental test coupons or
production parts.
‰ Minimize the time per test.
‰ Enable studies of the effect of surface finishes, coatings,
and other surface engineering approaches.
‰ Develop scuffing maps / models useful in material selection.

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 Development of the ‘Pin-on-Twin’ Test

‰ Geometry allows testing

both simple cylinders and
actual fuel injector plungers.

Load

‰ High-speed data acquisition

captures friction for various locations
Top pin
Bottom pins on the stroke as a function of time or
numbers of cycles.
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 First experiments evaluated 52100 steel in
#2 Diesel fuel and a low sulfur fuel (‘Jet A’)

0.20
Jet A fuel-lubrication, 10 N load,
5 Hz frequency, 10 mm stroke
Friction Coefficient

0.15

0.10

0.05 Annealed E52100 Steel

Hardened E52100 Steel
0.00
0 20 40 60
Sliding Distance (m)

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 Friction Trace Comparison Method
Enables Initiation to be Detected

12 m
Hardened E52100 Steel (Jet A, 50 N, 5 Hz)
0.20
0.15
Friction Coefficient

0.10
0.05
0.00
-0.05
-0.10
-0.15
-0.20
Initial 12 18 30 60
Sliding Distance (m)

18 m
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 Scuffing Map Portrays Initiation and Spread

of Surface Damage on Cylindrical Plungers

Initial surface roughness affects

0.065
the time to initiate scuffing and
0.052-0.065
0.052 0.039-0.052 the time to transition to a fully
0.026-0.039
0.039 0.013-0.026
scuffed surface
Δμ 0.000-0.013

0.026

600

0.013 540

600 480

Scuffed
0.000 480

Sliding Time (sec)

420

0
1

3
240

360

360
Jet Fuel

4
Transition
5

120

Time (s) 300

240

(low S)

Stroke Location (mm) 9

0
10
180

120
No scuffing
Global Scuffing

Sequence of friction traces on a simulated 60

Local Scuffing

fuel injector plunger 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45
Composite Roughness R q ' (μm)

Zirconia on Steel
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 New Multi-Stage Scuffing Model Includes

both Lubricant and Materials Effects

Material
Lubricant properties
flow and
viscosity

Boundary film properties

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 Case Study II: High-Temperature Scuffing of
Wastegate Bushing Materials for EGR Systems

‰ Developed a “bow-tie test” for cylinder

on flat geometry up to 650o C
‰ Measures changes in torque due to
surface damage and debris
accumulation

OSCILLATION
θ ~ 50o

25.4 mm 32 mm

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 Multiple Criteria were used to create
Scuffing Severity Maps

Worse than the others Better than the others 1) Torque as a function of time
Tile roughness vs. specific load
1800
2) Changes in surface roughness
440C/PL33
1600

WORST RESULTS
3) Examination of test specimens
1400 T-400C/T-400C
316 (Nit) / IDM5399
SPECIFIC LOAD

1200

1000
440C/IDM5399

800
Stellite 3 ctg/Stellite 3 ctg
600
T-400C ctg/Stellite 3
Stellite 6B/Stellite 6B
400
316 (Nit) / T-400C
200
0 0.5 1 1.5 2

ROUGHNESS, Ra (μm)
(After testing)

(Corrected for the measured scuffed area)

J. Wu and M. Yao, Deloro-Stellite
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 Biodiesel Additive Issues: How much BD can
improve lubricity? Fundamentally, what effect does
BD have on scuffing initiation and propagation?

‰ The National Biodiesel Board – www.biodiesel.org – reports

lubricity benefits when adding > 1% to #2 Diesel fuel (BOCLE).
Soybean oil-based additives claimed to meet or exceed
lubricity of current diesel fuels.
‰ Degree to which BD additives improve lubricity of low-S fuels
depends on which test method is used (e.g., BOCLE, SRV,
etc. -- report by L. Schumacher, U Idaho)
‰ Materials-based research is needed to understand these
discrepancies and to identify BD effects on the initiation and
propagation of scuffing damage in different materials.

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 DOE’s HTML User Program (Tribology Research User
Center) Provides Access to Specialized Test Methods

High-temperature
valve tests

High Temperature
Sliding Friction / Wear
Ring and Liner
Repeated
Impact

Advanced materials

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 Summary

‰ Scuffing is context-dependent. Tribosystems should be

individually analyzed in order to define ‘failure of function’.
‰ Scuffing damage can occur quickly or over time: depends
on operating conditions, materials, and lubrication.
‰ Approaches: redesign, alter operating conditions, alternative
materials or surface treatments, surface finish optimization, or
change lubricant type and means of supply.
‰ Simulative experiments and analytical models should be
applied to investigate effects of biodiesel fuels on the scuffing
mechanisms in materials/coatings.
‰ Methods described here are available to U.S. industry and
universities in the HTML Tribology Research User Center.

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 Special thanks to …

‰ Jun Qu, ORNL

‰ John J. Truhan, Jr. (UT, Caterpillar)
‰ Brian C. Jolly (ETSU, ORNL)
‰ Ray Johnson, ORNL
‰ Yuri Kalish, George Hansen (DDC)
‰ James Wu and Matthew Yao (Deloro-Stellite)
‰ Sid Diamond (DOE, dec.)
‰ Jerry Gibbs (DOE)
‰ OFCVT (HVPM program and the HTML User Program)

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