MODULE 2

WEAR

INTRODUCTION

Need for Maintenance:

1. Deterioration
2. Breakage /Failure
3. Obsolescence
Reasons 1 & 2 can be attributed to friction and
wear between contacting surfaces
WEAR: The removal of material from or the
impairment of a solid surface resulting from friction
or impact

Wear - occurs when two mating parts are in

relative motion
Generally considered to be undesirable.
There are instances where wear is useful polishing, grinding and other surface finishing
operations, lead wearing in a pencil to make
writing possible etc.
Wear results in material removal from the
surfaces in contact
It can never be avoided, but can only be
controlled by the proper lubrication and use
of wear resistant material

SURFACE TOPOGRAPHY
All solid surfaces are uneven.
Surfaces composed of peaks and valleys
called ASPERITIES
When su

When 2 nominally plane and parallel surfaces

are brought into contact, contact initially
occurs at only a few points.
When normal load is increased, the surfaces
move closer together and a larger number
of asperities come into contact
True/Actual
contact
area
<
Apparent/Nominal
contact
area
(geometrical area measured)
When relative motion (sliding) takes place
between surface, these asperities come into
contact and tries to resist sliding, causing
friction and wear

FRICTION

One of the first people to investigate friction

was Leonardo da Vinci
Friction is the force resisting the relative
motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and
material elements sliding against each other

Types of friction:

1. Dry friction
static friction ("stiction") between non-moving surfaces
kinetic friction between moving surfaces

2. Fluid friction
3. Lubricated friction etc.

LAWS OF SLIDING FRICTION

empirical relations
Three Laws of Friction
First two laws - Amontons Laws
First Law:
The frictional force (Ff) is proportional to the
normal load (N)
is independent of normal load N

Mathematically,

Where,
Ff frictional force
N total normal reaction/load at contact interface
- coefficient of friction

Value of varies from 0.001 (lightly

loaded rolling bearing) to greater than 10
(clean metals sliding against themselves in
vacuum)
Most common materials, ranges from
0.1 to 1.
NOTE: Polymers do not usually obey first
law.

Second Law
Frictional force is independent of the
apparent area of contact
Experiment Normal load, held constant,
apparent area of contact increased
is independent of apparent are of contact
NOTE: Second
POLYMERS

law

not

obeyed

by

Third Law
Found by Coulomb

Friction is independent of sliding velocity

Friction Force to initiate sliding more than
that necessary to maintain it.
Hence,
s (coefficient of static friction) > d (coefficient of dynamic
friction)

d is nearly independent of sliding velocity

At very high speeds (tens or hundreds of m/s), d
falls with increasing velocity

Coefficient of Friction

Independent of:
Normal Force
Apparent Area of contact
Nearly independent of sliding velocity

Depends solely on the materials of the

surfaces in contact.

WEAR

Classifying wear:
1. Based on the conditions in which the wear
occurs:
1.
2.

Presence of lubricant - Lubricated /Dry(Unlubricated) wear

Presence of abrasive particle: Abrasive Wear/ Sliding
wear

2. Lim and Ashby wear classification (into 4 basic

mechanisms)

Seizure
Melt
Oxidation
Plasticity

SLIDING WEAR
Also known as adhesive wear
Terms associated with sliding wear:

Scuffing: (UK)
localized surface damage due to lubrication breakdown
at high sliding speeds.

Scoring: (US)
synonymous with scuffing

Galling:
Severe from of scuffing
Gross surface damage
Damage resulting from un-lubricated sliding at low
speeds

TESTING METHODS

Used to:
Study wear mechanisms
To extract useful design data (wear rates, etc.)

TRIBOMETERS or TRIBOTESTERS instruments

used for wear testing.
Several different geometrical arrangements are
employed:

Ring on ring (line or face contact as in Fig. A & B)

Pin on disk (flat face or on the rim as in Fig. C & D)
Most commonly used

Block on ring (Fig. E)

Pin on flat (Fig. F)

Arrangements classified into two categories:

Symmetrical
Wear rates of two surfaces of same material should be
same
Not used often
E.g.: Ring on ring (Fig. A & B)

Asymmetrical
Most commonly used
E.g. Pin of disk

Contact may be:

Conformal (extended nominal contact area)
Counter-formal/concentrated (point or line
contact)

Of the mating pair/contact pair,

the pin/block is treated as the SPECIMEN
(component for which wear rate is measured)
the
disk/flat/ring
is
treated
as
the
COUNTERFACE

FOUR BALL TESTER:

Method
for
evaluating
lubricant
performance
Lower 3 balls rotated together in a carrier and
move relative to upper ball
Upper ball is held stationary and pressed
downward under a fixed normal load
Balls made of std. rolling bearing steel

SPECIMENS AND TESTING

Specimen Dimensions:
Few mm to tens of mm
Asymmetric test specimen dimensions
usually less than 25mm, while counter-face
larger.

Testing Standards:
Sphere on disk (DIN 50324)
Pin on Disk (ASTM G 99)
Block on Ring (ASTM G 77)

Quantification of Wear:
Several parameters are used
quantify wear. The most important are:

3.

Wear volume (V)

Wear height (h)
Wear rate (w) and

4.

Wear coefficient (KA)

1.
2.

Also,

to

is measured along with wear.

Wear volume and wear height are the

parameters most commonly used by
engineers and designers

They are not very useful for characterizing

the process of wear in general terms,
because they are heavily dependent on
variables that may change significantly from
problem to problem

Wear rate is defined as the volume removed

per sliding distance
w= V/s

TESTING PARAMETERS
1. Loads:
Range: fractions of N to several kN

2. Nominal area of contact

Varies for counter-formal contact

3. Sliding Speed:
Range: fractions of mm/s to hundreds of m/s
Affects rate of frictional heat dissipation, thus contact
interface temperature.

4. Duration of test
5. Atmospheric Conditions
Water vapour, oxygen etc.

6. Presence of lubricant

1 & 2 combined and rep as Nominal

Pressure (Load/Nominal Area)

THEORY OF SLIDING WEAR:

ARCHARD WEAR EQUATION
Developed by Holm and Archard
Highlights the main variables which
influence sliding wear
Also, gives a method to describe severity
of wear by means of WEAR
COEFFICIENT (K)
Developed mainly for metals

Derivation

Assumptions:
True contact area will be sum of individual
contact areas.
This area is proportional to the normal load.
Under most conditions, the local deformation
of asperities will be plastic.

Assume a single asperity contact (circular

in plan/top view)
Radius a
Maximum contact in stage (c)
The fraction of the normal load
supported by it = dW

dW = Pa2
Where,
P yield pressure of plastically deforming
asperity (close to indentation hardness, H)

As sliding continues, it leads to formation

and destruction of asperity contact
junctions.
Wear is associated with removal of
materials from the asperities
Volume of material removed depends on
the size of asperity junction from which it
originated.
Assumed that,
Volume of material removed from1 asperity
junction (dV) proportional to cube of
contact dimension (a3)

Volume can be taken to be a that of

hemisphere of radius a
i.e., dV = (2 a3)/3

NOTE: All asperities will not give rise to

wear particles. (assume a proportion
does so)[ kappa]
Hence, Avg. vol. of material (dQ) worn
away per unit sliding distance (for single
asperity contact, through a distance of 2a)
dQ = dV/2a
i.e., dQ = ( a2)/3

Overall Wear Rate (Q) is the sum of the

contributions over the whole real area of
contact:
Q = dQ = /3 a2..(1)

Total Normal Load (W)

W = dW = P a2 (2)

From (2),
a2 = W/P..(3)
(3) in (1):
Q = kW/3P
Hence, the Archard Wear equation:

Q= KW/H
Where,
Q = Overall Wear rate
K = Wear coefficient/coefficient of wear = k/3
H = Hardness of the softer material (=P)

K wear coefficient:

Dimensionless
Always less than unity
Higher value indicates increased wear severity

In engineering applications,
(K/H) = k (dimensional wear coefficient)
is more useful.
k = Q/W

volume of material removed by wear (mm3) per unit

sliding distance (m), per unit normal load on the
contact (N)
Unit mm3 (Nm)-1
Helps in comparing wear rates of different class of
materials.
E.g.: Metals and elastomers

NOTE: It is assumed in Archard wear

equation that:
Q depends only on
normal load (W) &
Hardness or Yield Strength of softer surface (H)

According to eqn, if K is a constant for a

given sliding system:
1. Volume of material lost by wear
proportional to distance slid. (i.e., Q is a
constant)
2. If W is varied, Q should vary in proportion

Statement 1:
Found to be experimentally true.
Transient behaviour is sometimes noted at the start,
where wear during the initial running in period may
be higher/lower that steady state wear rate (where
equilibrium surface conditions have been established)

Statement 2:
Strict proportionality not found b/w Q and normal
load (W)
Over limited ranges, Q varies directly with W.
Abrupt transitions from low to high Qs and vice
versa is observed.
This case can be understood better by considering
the example of sliding contact of leaded Brass
against Hard Stellite ring.

At Low loads,
Q increases with W
K 2 x 10 -6

At loads of 5 to 10 N,
Sharp increase in wear rate (100x)
Transition point
Follows archard eqn

At even high W,
Still follows archard eqn
K 10 -4

Regime of wear at low loads, below transition MILD

WEAR
Regime above transition SEVERE WEAR

MILD WEAR:

Fine wear debris

Predominantly oxide
Worn surface relatively smooth
Sliding surfaces separated by oxide films with occasional
direct metallic contact
Low (0.15)

SEVERE WEAR:

Larger particles
Metallic debris
Roughened surface
Metal to metal contact
High (0.25- 0.3)

Transition from mild to severe wear:

Due to change in nature of sliding contact
Extensive metal to metal contact occurs

Transition from severe to mild wear:

Occurs when two competing processes
balance, i.e.,
1. Rate of exposure of fresh metal surface by severe
wear
2. Rate of oxidation of the surfaces by the
surrounding atmosphere.

Since oxide formation plays crucial role in

mild wear, any factor affecting it will affect
transition from severe to mild wear.
E.g.: Temperature

Temperature
Most direct factor
Temp at sliding interface depends upon:
Ambient temp
Frictional power dissipation (Ff x sliding speed)
(depends upon)
Sliding Speed
Load

UNLUBRICATED WEAR OF
METALS
As sliding conditions vary the
mechanism of wear changes
One mechanism cannot be attributed to
wear over a wide range of conditions
Main factors controlling wear mechanism:

Mechanical Stresses
Temperature
Oxidations phenomenon

MECHAINCAL STRESSES

Two types:

Normal Stresses
Shear stress

Normal stresses under conditions of

plastic contact, it
will be close to
indentation hardness of softer body
But, if surfaces are smooth, closely
conforming
or lightly loaded, asperity
contact will be elastic wear will be very
slow (by elastic process like high cycle
fatigue)

Shear Stress: Magnitude and position

depends upon .
For < approx. 0.3,

Max shear stress and associated flow

beneath surface, and plastic strain (shear)
accumulation is low.
E.g.: Lubricated sliding systems and one having
protective oxide layer.

For > approx. 0.3,

Max shear stress on the surface.
Plastic strain (shear) accumulation high.

Plasticity dominated wear mechanisms

prevail:
High Loads
Low sliding speeds

Lead to severe wear

Temperature & Oxidation

Phenomenon
Metals form oxide films in air
Rate of film growth depends on temp of
interface (which may be substantially
higher than ambient)
Estimation and measurement of interface
temp difficult

All three factors are inter-related and are

influenced by LOAD and SLIDING
SPEED/VELOCITY.

Fig. below shows the effects of normal

load and sliding velocity on the extend of
mechanical
damage
and
interface
temperature

Increased Normal Load high stresses

more severe mechanical damage
Load and sliding velocity determines
interface temp (control the power dissipated
at the interface)
Low sliding velocity, heat generated will be
rapidly conducted away , interface temp will
remain low; and the sliding process will be,
ISOTHERMAL within a limit.
High sliding velocity, only limited heat
conduction can occur, high interface temp.
and the limiting condition would be
ADIABATIC

High interface temperature high

chemical reactivity of surfaces causing
rapid growth of oxide films in air.
Also - High interface temperature
reduced mechanical strength of asperities
and near surface metal.
May cause melting in extreme cases.

WEAR REGIME MAPS

Also called wear mode map
Dimensionless variables are employed:

Normalized contact pressure (normal

load/nominal
contact
area*indentation
hardness of softer material)
Normalized velocity (sliding velocity/ velocity
of heat flow)
Sliding velocity given in upper abscissa/ x-axis

E.g. shown for steel (pin on disc contact in

air)

Regions in the diagram developed from:

Empirical data from experiments
Simple analytical models for wear.

8 regimes can be identified

REGIME 1(SEIZURE)
Very high contact pressures
Gross seizure of surfaces
Growth in asperity junctions
Real area of contact apparent area of
contact

REGIME II (SEVERE WEAR)

High load
Relatively low sliding speed
Thin oxide layer penetrated by asperity
contact
High surface traction
Metallic wear debris is formed
Severe wear

REGIME III (MILD WEAR)

Low loads
Oxide layer in not penetrated
Low rate of mild wear due to removal of
particles of oxide layer

NOTE:
Regime II and III- thermal effect negligible.
Regime IV and V - thermal effect - important

REGIME IV (SEVERE WEAR)

High Load and speed
High frictional power dissipation
Thermal conduction ineffective
Melting occurs
Wear is rapid and severe
Metal removed as molten droplets

USED IN FRICTION CUTTING

REGIME V (MILD)
Interface temp is high , but below melting
point.
Rapid surface oxidation
Extreme type of oxidation wear takes
place
Thick oxide layer forms and deforms
plastically
Wear debris consists of oxide

REGIME VI,VII & VIII

Occurs over a narrow band of sliding

velocity

Represents transitional behaviour b/w low

speed isothermal and high speed adiabatic
conditions

Regime VI:

Thermal effects begin to play role

No significant rise of the interface temp.
Hot-spots at asperity contacts occur
(reaching flash temperature), leading to patchy
oxide growth
Mild wear occurs
Wear debris composed mainly of oxides,
removed by spalling

Regime VII:

At higher loads metallic asperity contact

occurs despite enhanced oxidation at hot
spots
Severe Wear
Metallic Debris

Regime VIII:
Higher flash temp that in regime VI
Leads to formation of martensite
Interface temperature above 9100C, so that
allotropic transformation can take place
High strength of martensite provide local
mechanical support to surface oxide film
Mild wear proceeds with removal of oxide

Constant sliding speed

MECHANISMS OF SLIDING
WEAR

Wear mechanisms operating in

different wear regimes are either:
1. PLASTICITY DOMINATED WEAR
2. OXIDATIONAL WEAR

the