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Third body load carrying capacity noted with different materials under different kinematic conditions have been observed under fretting conditions. Tests run in the same machine with steel on steel, and chalk on glass, have shown similar particle shape and shape changes and similar particle motion. Observations show that third bodies formed with particles govern wear.

Fretting wear and fretting fatigue are governed by the rate of formation of materials (third-bodies) between the initial contact surfaces. Furthermore, the third-bodies must be maintained within the contact. The issue of the race between third-body formation and subsurface damage conditions the effect of fretting on fatigue. That race lasts for only a few hundred or at best a few thousand cycles. Effective third-bodies (or good anti-fretting lubricants) must adhere strongly to the rubbing surfaces, and be able to accommodate at least part of the relative displacement. Great care in the design of test equipment has to be exercised before definitive results on the effect of amplitude and frequency on either fretting fatigue or fretting wear can be obtained for a given contact condition, given materials and given environments.

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