A novel acceleration-controlled random vibration fretting test methodology: From classical sinusoidal to Gaussian random excitation

In nuclear power plants, wear of steam generators, fuel rods and assemblies can have serious economic and safety impact. To reproduce realistic oscillatory fretting wear in laboratory, a novel accelerated random vibration fretting wear test methodology, using Gaussian excitations, is proposed. A new experimental device and protocol were also developed, enabling controlled fretting damage under random excitations. The tests were performed on a...