Hydrogen and its impact on friction and wear in materials
Can the presence of hydrogen modify the friction and wear of materials? This is one of the key questions being addressed by TECNALIA Research & Innovation, which has recently expanded its tribological testing capabilities by incorporating experiments in hydrogen atmospheres.
The centre’s infrastructure now makes it possible to evaluate the evolution of wear, friction and electrical contact resistance under a wide range of conditions: different temperatures, speeds, contact pressures and solid, liquid or gaseous environments. The introduction of hydrogen as a new testing environment paves the way for a more precise study of the behaviour and degradation resistance of multiple materials in critical industrial applications.
As an example of this research, TECNALIA has recently presented a comparison of wear tracks obtained on a stainless-steel alloy under different atmospheres, all under similar test conditions. The challenge for the technical community: identifying which of the tracks corresponds to a hydrogen test, highlighting the potential impact of this gas on friction and wear mechanisms.
TECNALIA invites companies and professionals in the sector to visit its facilities to learn first-hand about these capabilities and discuss the technical details of its latest advances in surface engineering.
The development of new test equipment and procedures has been funded by the SegurH2 and ONTZHi-II projects.
