Combining the loading conditions of two different classes of forming operations, in sheet bulk metal forming processes, contact pressures ranging from a few hundred MPa up to loads exceeding 2,500 MPa are experienced. With the additional need for an enhanced control of the material flow, which is best implemented by locally adapted frictional properties of the contact tool/workpiece, sheet bulk metal forming represents a challenge to tribology. As a consequence, the evaluation of the friction and wear properties of different surface modifications and lubricants within a variety of loading conditions is required. The load-scanning test is a universal tribological model test. Its most distinctive feature is the ability to assess the friction and wear behaviour of a tribological pairing within a whole range of contact loads in a single test run. The simple and quick test method also allows the investigation of plastic contacts. Due to these features, the load-scanning test is of particular interest with regard to the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the application potentials and limits of use of tribological measures intended for sheet bulk metal forming. Like any model test, the load-scanning test has also specific drawbacks. In some test setups, the stress distribution in the contact area may be non-uniform. Further, the maximum realizable contact pressure may be limited by low yield strengths of the tested materials in combination with the insufficient flow restriction of the contact geometry and/or the moderate machine force. By comparison to other test methods and by giving examples of its application in different scenarios, the present paper discusses the potentials and limitations of the load-scanning test against the background of sheet bulk metal forming.
