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It was often observed that friction forces can be reduced signi®cantly if ultrasonic oscillations are superposed to the macroscopic sliding velocity. This phenomenon can be used to improve machining processes by addition of ultrasonic vibration to tools or workpieces, and forms the basis for many processes of ultrasonic machining. On the other hand, ultrasonic vibrations can be used to generate motion. The thrusting force of ultrasonic motors is provided to the rotor through friction. In the present paper, a simple theoretical model for friction in the presence of ultrasonic oscillations is derived theoretically and validated experimentally. The model is capable of predicting the reduction of the macroscopic friction force as a function of the ultrasonic vibration frequency and amplitude and the macroscopic sliding velocity.

Fatigue life of tapered roller bearings and other elements subject to cyclic contact stress reflects the fatigue strength of the selected material under given environmental conditions. The various modes of contact-fatigue failure have been classified according to their appearance and the factors which promote their initiation and propagation. Illustrations of the various failure modes include rig test specimens and bearings representing normal catalog-rated life under laboratory and application environments. Evidence is presented for the propagation of contact fatigue from surface and subsurface origins.

Piezoelectric materials are an important class of smart materials for the generation of mechanical ultrasonic vibrations. In industrial applications (for example ultrasonic cutting) the frictional contact of the vibrating tool with the workpiece is of special importance. A common observation at the contact zone is that frictional forces can be significantly reduced by superposition of ultrasonic vibrations. In this report we present a theoretical explanation for the reduction of friction. A basic system, consisting of a longitudinal ultrasonic vibrator sliding on a plane, is investigated. It is shown that a modification of Coulomb's friction law can be applied to this kind of vibrating friction contact. The macroscopically observed friction-force with ultrasonic vibration depends on the sliding velocity and the velocity of vibration: For sliding velocities higher than the vibration-amplitude the frictional force is not changed by vibration. But for small sliding velocities the friction-coefficient is significantly reduced and almost approaches zero for very slow sliding-velocity. The theoretical results were confirmed systematically by experimental investigations done on a specially designed test-rig. Energy considerations are used to calculate the ultrasonic energy which is required to achieve a prescribed reduction of the frictional forces. The model is also used for sensing the vibration-amplitude as well as the sliding-velocity without an additional sensor.

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