20.500.12556/RUL-181298 In-situ wear-progression measurement in POM-steel gear contacts Wear is the dominant failure mechanism in polymer–steel gear pairs. This study presents an in-situ optical method for measuring the wear-progression of a polyoxymethylene (POM) gear meshing with a steel pinion on a real-scale gear test rig under controlled operating conditions. The method enables imaging of the individual teeth without removing the gears from their operating environment. Experiments were performed for a range of operating parameters (torque: 1/2 Nm, rotational speed: 1200/1800 rpm, temperature: 30/70 ◦C). The in-situ profiles reveal three distinct wear regimes: (1) a running-in phase with nearly uniform material removal and a steep decrease in the wear coefficient during the first 30,000 load cycles, (2) a position-dependent regime dominated by dedendum and tip wear with delayed wear in the pitch area, and (3) a steady-state regime where wear progresses approximately linearly at all characteristic flank positions. Contact analyses using imported measured profiles show a redistribution of the contact pressure toward the pitch area, consistent with the observed transition to steady-state wear. Higher torque and speed reduce the number of cycles to the wear-failure criterion, whereas a higher temperature extends the lifetime and promotes a more uniform flank engagement for the investigated material pairing and operating conditions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations support a milder wear morphology at 70 ◦C compared to 30 ◦C. The method provides time- and position-resolved wear data that are difficult to reconstruct from ex-situ techniques and is suitable for supporting flank wear modeling and optimization. polymer gears wear-progression wear mechanisms in-situ measurement optical imaging polimerni zobniki napredovanje obrabe mehanizmi obrabe in-situ merjenje optično slikanje true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-03-31 12:20:14 2026-03-31 12:20:25 2026-04-01 04:30:02 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 13 str. art. 206674 Vol. 594 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 539.92:621 1873-2577 10.1016/j.wear.2026.206674 273713155 RAZ_Osolnik_Nejc_2026.pdf RAZ_Osolnik_Nejc_2026.pdf 1 10280E918BB323219B20702C989DE98B 91620569267de88019835af298dc77127fefbf697bfac9cae364f543aa768e55 5adcf3b2-2ceb-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=231646 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004316482600164X?via%3Dihub 1 16868223-2ceb-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=231645 Fakulteta za strojništvo 0 0 0