Precise control of operating conditions in tribotesting with respect to trace humidity and contact temperature

Research in tribology are often connected to tribosystems operating in specific environments, where climate chambers are needed for tribotesting to resemble the environmental conditions in the real application. Although the effect of humidity on the tribological performance of many materials and lubricants is evident, many studies are conducted without sufficient systems to accurately monitor and control the humidity level throughout testing. In this paper, a humidity controlling system was developed to enable continuous monitoring and precise control of the humidity at trace moisture levels. The climate controller was validated in a tri-pin-on-disc tribometer with excellent performance and can be fitted to most climate chambers. To further improve the control of operating conditions during tribotesting, a thermodynamic simulation of the contact temperature was developed.•The developed climate controller is a simple and cost-effective method to accurately monitor and control the humidity in a climate chamber at trace moisture levels.•The portable design of the humidity controller enables use with most climate chambers and enclosed tribometers.•To have better control over the temperature in the sliding interface during testing, a thermodynamic simulation method was used to estimate contact temperature between sliding bodies from near-contact temperature measurements and the measured friction forces.