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Tribological performance of ceramics in lubricated ultrasonic motors

Qiu, Wei LU orcid ; Mizuno, Yosuke and Nakamura, Kentaro (2016) In Wear 352-353. p.188-195
Abstract
Small ultrasonic motors are driven by the oscillation of piezoelectric transducers. They are primarily applied to equipment components that require precise movements, such as drivers for auto-focus lenses in cameras, and actuators in robots and positioning devices. While lubrication has been proven effective in improving the performance of ultrasonic motors, the friction materials still play a significant role. In this study, the suitability of four different engineering ceramics, which included alumina (Al2O3), zirconia (ZrO2), silicon carbide (SiC), and silicon nitride (Si3N4), were investigated in the self-mated configuration. By testing the candidate materials in the actual ultrasonic motor configuration, the main wear mechanisms of... (More)
Small ultrasonic motors are driven by the oscillation of piezoelectric transducers. They are primarily applied to equipment components that require precise movements, such as drivers for auto-focus lenses in cameras, and actuators in robots and positioning devices. While lubrication has been proven effective in improving the performance of ultrasonic motors, the friction materials still play a significant role. In this study, the suitability of four different engineering ceramics, which included alumina (Al2O3), zirconia (ZrO2), silicon carbide (SiC), and silicon nitride (Si3N4), were investigated in the self-mated configuration. By testing the candidate materials in the actual ultrasonic motor configuration, the main wear mechanisms of these ceramics were identified under lubricated conditions, with fracture being the most dominant contributor to their wear. Among the four tested ceramics, ZrO2 was found to be the most promising material as it exhibited the mildest wear and a satisfactory level of friction. The obtained results also indicate that the fracture toughness of ceramics is more critical than their hardness. This study provides guidelines for selecting friction materials that can be used in long-lived, lubricated ultrasonic motors. (Less)
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author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Ultrasonic motors, Ceramics, Sliding friction, Lubrication, Wear mechanism
in
Wear
volume
352-353
pages
8 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:84960146141
ISSN
0043-1648
DOI
10.1016/j.wear.2016.02.006
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
e9aa4ffe-6422-4f4d-b05e-56792ddd80a9
date added to LUP
2022-08-10 23:46:46
date last changed
2022-08-15 16:26:58
@article{e9aa4ffe-6422-4f4d-b05e-56792ddd80a9,
  abstract     = {{Small ultrasonic motors are driven by the oscillation of piezoelectric transducers. They are primarily applied to equipment components that require precise movements, such as drivers for auto-focus lenses in cameras, and actuators in robots and positioning devices. While lubrication has been proven effective in improving the performance of ultrasonic motors, the friction materials still play a significant role. In this study, the suitability of four different engineering ceramics, which included alumina (Al2O3), zirconia (ZrO2), silicon carbide (SiC), and silicon nitride (Si3N4), were investigated in the self-mated configuration. By testing the candidate materials in the actual ultrasonic motor configuration, the main wear mechanisms of these ceramics were identified under lubricated conditions, with fracture being the most dominant contributor to their wear. Among the four tested ceramics, ZrO2 was found to be the most promising material as it exhibited the mildest wear and a satisfactory level of friction. The obtained results also indicate that the fracture toughness of ceramics is more critical than their hardness. This study provides guidelines for selecting friction materials that can be used in long-lived, lubricated ultrasonic motors.}},
  author       = {{Qiu, Wei and Mizuno, Yosuke and Nakamura, Kentaro}},
  issn         = {{0043-1648}},
  keywords     = {{Ultrasonic motors; Ceramics; Sliding friction; Lubrication; Wear mechanism}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  pages        = {{188--195}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Wear}},
  title        = {{Tribological performance of ceramics in lubricated ultrasonic motors}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2016.02.006}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.wear.2016.02.006}},
  volume       = {{352-353}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}