Scuffing and Wear of the Vane/Roller Surfaces for Rotary Compressor Depending on Several Sliding Condition

One of the serious challenges in developing rotary compressor with HFC refrigerant is the prediction of scuffing times and wear amounts between vane and roller surface. In this study, the tribological characteristics of sliding surfaces using roller-vane geometry of rotary compressor were investigated. The sliding tests were carried out under various sliding speeds, normal loads and surface roughness. During the tests, friction force, wear scar width, time to failure, surface temperature, and surface roughness were monitored. Because severe wear was occurred on vane surface, TiN coating was applied on sliding surfaces to prolong the wear-life of vane-roller interfaces. From the sliding tests, it was found that there was the optimum initial surface roughness to break in and to prolong the wear life of sliding surfaces. Depending on load and speed, the protective layers, which were composed of metallic oxide and organic compound, were formed on sliding surfaces. Those would play an important role in the amount of friction and wear between roller and vane surfaces.