Professur Maschinenelemente und Produktentwicklung

Assessing failure in component contacts represents a particular challenge, as stress mechanics and tribology interact here in an especially damaging manner. Small relative micro-movements between the contacting components – also referred to as slip – lead to tribological wear, while superimposed external loads accelerate crack growth and may ultimately result in component failure. The phenomenon of fretting fatigue is comprehensively investigated and evaluated in the publication “Crack initiation under fretting conditions: experimental and numerical evidence for a dominant mechanism”. By combining experimental investigations and numerical simulations, fretting fatigue is analyzed as the dominant damage mechanism. The results provide new insights into crack initiation under fretting-fatigue conditions and support improved predictions of component service life. Thus, these findings contribute to the development of more robust design strategies for safety-critical engineering components.