Influences of Embedding Parameters and Segment Sizes in Recursive Characteristics Analysis on Coefficients of Friction

The methods of recurrence plots (RPs) and recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) have been used to investigate the tribosystem. The morphology of RPs and RQA measures are strongly dependent on the embedding parameters of the recursive matrix and the segment sizes of the time-series. To improve the calculation accuracy of recursive characteristics analysis, the influences of the embedding parameters and segment sizes on the morphology of RPs and RQA measures have been studied in this letter. Three kinds of theoretical chaotic time-series and measured coefficient of friction (COF) signals during the running-in process were chosen as research objects, and the morphology of RPs and RQA measures were obtained using CRP toolbox afterward. The results indicate that no embedding was actually needed if the data sets are to be qualitatively analyzed using RPs and RQA. Additionally, the morphology of RPs and RQA measures are sensitive to the segment sizes for theoretical chaotic time-series, while the RQA measures of COF signal in the steady-state period are rather stable due to its self-similarity. Finally, according to the guidelines of the parameter settings, the dynamical evolution of measured COF signals during the running-in process have been investigated. It is indicated that recursive characteristics of COF signals could reveal the tribological behaviors’ evolution and conduct the running-in status identification. The results in this paper are significant for improving the calculation accuracy and saving computational time when using the method of recursive characteristics analysis on the tribological behaviors.