Analysis on the mechanism of humidity to influence the very early stage of sliding under different load

A study was carried out on the influences of atmospheric humidity in the very early stage of sliding for austenitic stainless steel (JIS SUS316). Pin-on-disk tests were conducted under different rates of relative humidity (RH). A relatively low magnitude of applied load to lessen the influences of mechanical effect was employed for emphasizing the humidity effect on tribological phenomena. The results of the current study were compared with our previous study results obtained at higher magnitude of applied load. The comparison suggested different mechanisms of adsorbed water layer exert influences on the tribological phenomena in the very early stage of the sliding when applied load was changed.