Session: 18-07 Metallurgy, Coating and Repair III

Paper Number: 129206

129206 - Tribological Performance of Soft Magnetic Composite Materials for Gas Turbine Applications 

Soft magnetic composites (SMCs) have gained attention in the last years of their usage in more compact and powerful electromechanical systems. These materials are used to combine the application of metallic material to the capability of generating (without external supply) a magnetic field. Automotive and aerospace technologies push the applications of these original materials to even higher power and mechanical stress to reduce the number of components, the size, and, in turn, the weight of complex systems. Considering gas turbine application, SMCs were formerly developed for bearings, but in the last decades, the new era of gas turbine electrification (e.g., hybrid-electric fly) has determined the need for mechanical improvement of such materials. At the same time, the reliability of soft magnetic material has to be discovered to avoid failure and reduce the maintenance schedule.

In the present work, tribological behaviors of SMCs have been investigated by standard wear tests. In particular, two different types of SMSc were prepared through the powder metallurgy technique. Tests were conducted by a tribometer using a ball-on-disc configuration. The effect of oil temperature and applied load were investigated. Additionally, to assess the actual SMCs wear-related behavior, a sensitivity analysis on the counterbody properties has been carried out. In addition to the tribological tests, an extensive post-mortem analysis by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) has been conducted on the worn surface to recognize the mechanism responsible for the deterioration of the materials. The results have shown the effects of the oil viscosity on the useful operating life of the SMCs. Removal mechanisms depend on the load conditions, and the proper selection of the oil characteristics and load has been assessed.

Presenting Author: Alessio Suman University of Ferrara

Presenting Author Biography: Alessio Suman is a research assistant at University of Ferrara.

Authors:

Alessio Suman University of Ferrara
Annalisa Fortini University of Ferrara