Friction and wear of the rotary compressor vane-roller surfaces for several sliding conditions

One of the serious challenges in developing a rotary compressor with HFC refrigerant is the prediction of friction forces and wear amounts between vane and roller surfaces. In this study, the tribological characteristics of sliding surfaces using vane-roller geometry of a rotary compressor were investigated. The sliding tests were carried out under various sliding speeds, normal loads, and surface roughness. During the test, friction force, wear depth, and surface temperature were monitored. Because severe wear occurred on the vane surface, TiN coating was applied on sliding surfaces to prolong the wear life. The sliding tests indicates that there was an optimum initial surface roughness to break in and to prolong the wear life of sliding surfaces. Depending on load and speed, the protective layers, which were composed of metallic oxide and organic compound, were formed on sliding surfaces. Those would play an important role in the amounts of friction and wear between vane and roller surfaces. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.