The effect of aging precipitation on the fretting wear behavior of 17-4 PH stainless steel used for tight fit assemblies

Key Points

• Fretting wear behavior is significantly influenced by aging precipitation in stainless steel.
• Aging precipitates enhance the wear resistance up to a certain threshold, beyond which performance declines.
• Analysis identified that 17-4 PH stainless steel exhibits unique wear characteristics in tight fit assemblies under varying conditions.
• The findings may enable better design choices for assemblies subjected to fretting, although tests were conducted under controlled conditions.