Effects of pulsed magnetic field on thrust bearing washer hardness

Magnetic treatment has been shown to be capable of altering mechanical properties of materials. Since the behavior of tribological systems depends on the mechanical characteristics of the interacting bodies, applying a magnetic field to an operating tribological system is a potential means for controlling system behavior. As a measure of the effects of applied magnetic fields on tribological processes the micro-hardness of ferromagnetic steel thrust bearing washers was measured for washers before and after being run under no-field and applied magnetic field conditions. Analyses of the data showed statistically significant effects. For the specific test conditions used, micro-hardness increased by approximately 5% for bearings run under no-field conditions. For bearings run under pulsed magnetic fields washer hardness decreased by approximately 9%.