Inconel alloys have been used as engineering materials in high temperature and high stress applications due to their excellent mechanical properties. Tribological performances of these alloys, however, have not been conducted extensively. This is because in tribological applications, these materials have not often been utilized in friction and wear-related applications, resulting in a deficiency in the characterization of their tribomechanical properties. In the present research, we investigate the mechanisms of tribological performance of two different Inconel alloys in terms of contact pressures and sliding speeds. We studied their frictional behavior. The wear data were plotted against the pressure×velocity (PV parameter) in order to investigate the changes of surface properties and wear behaviors of the same under the influence of mechanical energy input. It was interesting to find that the wear mechanisms were influenced by the process of tribotesting. There are three competing wear mechanisms found, abrasion, adhesion, and oxidation. Each of those dominates the tribological performance under different conditions.

Mechanical failure of integrated circuits and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) demands new understanding of friction in small devices. In present research, we demonstrated an in situ approach to measure sliding friction of a patterned surface composing multi-materials and structures. The effects of materials and surface morphology on friction and electrical contact resistance were investigated. The material transfer at the interface of dissimilar materials was found to play dominating roles in friction. The current work provides important insights from the fundamentals of friction that benefit the design of new micro-devices.