BABBITT ALLOY/ BEARING METAL

Babbitt metal is most commonly used as a thin surface layer in a complex, multi-metal assembly, but its original use was as a cast-in-place bulk bearing material. Babbitt metal is characterized by its resistance to galling. Babbitt metal is soft and easily damaged, which suggests that it might be unsuitable for a bearing surface. However, its structure is made up of small hard crystals dispersed in a softer metal, which makes it, technically, a metal matrix composite. As the bearing wears, the softer metal erodes somewhat, creating paths for lubricant between the hard high spots that provide the actual bearing surface. When tin is used as the softer metal, friction causes the tin to melt and function as a lubricant, protecting the bearing from wear when other lubricants are absent.