Experimental development and validation of tribological run-in strategies to reduce friction in hydraulic applications

<lv:p>A particularly demanding contact in axial piston pumps is the one between cylinder block and valve plate. The tribological behavior of the contact can be changed by a run-in process. Publications on fast and efficient run-in are rare as this knowledge is often considered confidential. For this paper, tests have been carried out on a disc-on-disc tribometer to examine the run-in behavior of a material pairing and to identify suitable parameters for run-in. A methodology has been developed which can be used to find the optimal normal load and rotational speed for the run-in process to shorten the run-in time significantly.</lv:p>