A fretting wear test rig for dry ambient condition, which employs a piezoelectric actuator, has been developed. It is driven and loaded in a very simple manner with acceptable experimental accuracy By using the rig, Inconel 690 tube has been tested under the normal load of 10 and 15N with sliding amplitude of less than 100j..lm during 106cycles. The wear resistance of the material has been characterized in terms of the wear coefficient based on the work rate model. SEM micrographs show the complex structures of the scars, which consist of risen peaks, plate-type thin layers and locally exposed bare surfaces. The cracks spread over the layers give clue to the fretting wear mechanism of the material.
