2.

17 INTRODUCTION TO WEAR
2.17.1 Introduction:
Wear is defined as the loss of material from a surface by means of some mechanical action. Wear is related
to interactions between surfaces and more specifically the removal and deformation of material on a
surface as a result of the mechanical action of an opposing surface. The requirements of relative motion
between two surfaces and initial mechanical contact between asperities are important distinctions
between mechanical wear and other processes with similar outcomes. It should be understood that the
real area of contact between two solid surfaces is invariably very small compared to the apparent area,
being limited to points of contact between surface asperities. The load applied to the surfaces will be
transferred through these points of contact and local forces can be very large. The intrinsic properties of
the material surface, such as hardness, strength, ductility and work hardening play an important role in
determining a material’s wear resistance, but other factors such as surface finish, lubrication, load, speed,
corrosion, temperature and the properties of the opposing surface are equally important.

2.17.2 Classification of wear mechanisms:

There is still some debate concerning the classification of wear modes, but most researchers agree on the
classification shown in Table 2.17.1. These wear mechanisms, however, do not necessarily act
independently and are usually not mutually exclusive. Industrial wear is commonly described as multiple
wear mechanisms occurring in unison. The different wear modes are briefly considered below.
Table 2.17.1. Classification of wear modes.

Wear

Adhesive wear Abrasive wear Erosion Fretting

Low-stress
Oxidative wear Impingement
scratching
High-stress
Metallic wear Cavitation
abrasion
Galling Gouging

2.17.2.1 Adhesive wear:

Adhesive wear is defined as the sliding action between two metallic components where no abrasives are
intended to be present, for example sliding due to the slippage of roller bearings, or sliding between a valve
and a seat. Adhesive wear is illustrated in Figures 2.17.1 and 2.17.2, and is characterised by metal transfer
from place to place on the component surface, and metal transfer from surface to surface. In situations
where lubrication is difficult or impossible, hardfacing is recommended to minimise adhesive wear. As
shown in Table 2.17.1, adhesive wear can be subdivided into three different modes, depending on the
applied load.
• Oxidative (mild) wear: At low applied loads an oxide film may be generated due to frictional heating accompanied
by sliding. The oxide film prevents the formation of a metallic bond between the sliding surfaces, resulting in low
wear rates.
• Metallic wear: At high applied loads, a metallic bond forms between the surfaces of the mating materials,
resulting in extremely high wear rates.
• Galling: Severe adhesive wear. Wear debris larger than the clearance between the mating surfaces is present,
causing seizure of the moving components.
Adhesive wear rates may vary significantly with small changes in load and relative speed. Hardness cannot
be linked directly to adhesive wear resistance. Adhesive wear can be controlled through the use of
lubrication, mutually incompatible materials and the application of non-reactive surface coatings.
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 Figure 2.17.1. Wear by adhesion. Sliding metal components have raised or roughened areas and contact under heat
and pressure causes momentary "solid-state welding" (left). The force fractures the weld, causing a jagged surface
(right).

Figure 2.17.2. Adhesive wear.

2.17.2.2 Abrasive wear:

Abrasive wear results from the cutting and penetrating action of hard abrasive particles. These abrasive
particles may be generated during the wear process by the fracture of asperities (two body abrasive wear),
or may be external (three body abrasive wear), as shown in Figure 2.17.3. A metal surface subjected to
abrasive wear is characterised by regular or irregular scoring of the surface, surface scratching and pitting.
Wear resistance is affected by the metal hardness, chemical composition and microstructure.
Three different abrasive wear modes have been identified:
• Low-stress scratching abrasion: Wear results from a cutting action by sliding abrasives stressed below their
crushing strength. The wear pattern shows scratches, with minimal subsurface deformation.
• High-stress grinding abrasion: Wear results under conditions of stress high enough to crush the abrasives. The
stresses are usually high enough to cause plastic deformation of the ductile matrix of the materials being abraded.
• Gouging abrasion: Gouging abrasion is defined as high-stress abrasion where sizeable grooves or gouges are
created on the wearing surface. The gouges may be the result of a sliding motion, followed by impact.

Figure 2.17.3. Abrasive wear mechanisms: two body abrasive wear (left) and three body abrasive wear (right).

2.17.2.3 Contact fatigue:

Contact fatigue is defined as surface or subsurface fatigue crack formation that occurs when the endurance
limit of surfaces in rolling contact is exceeded under cyclic loading conditions (as shown in Figure 2.17.4).
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Contact fatigue cracking can lead to spalling of material. Contact fatigue occurs when wear particles are
detached by cyclic crack growth of microcracks on the surface. These microcracks are either superficial
cracks or subsurface cracks.

Figure 2.17.4. Contact fatigue mechanisms in metals.

2.17.2.4 Fretting:
Fretting describes material loss due to very small amplitude vibrations at mechanical connections, such as
riveted joints (see Figure 2.17.5 for an example of fretting damage on the surface of a journal). Fretting is a
combination of oxidative and abrasive wear. The oscillation of two metallic surfaces at a joint may result in
the formation of an oxide laye, and wear is subsequently caused by the abrasion of this oxide. Fretting is
characterized by three main stages:
• the mechanical action disrupts surface oxide films to expose clean reactive metal,
• metal particles are removed by mechanical grinding, and
• metal oxides form abrasive powder which damages the metal surface.
Fretting can be controlled by eliminating the source of the vibration, by using lubrication and by eliminating
oxygen. Unprotected bearings on large structures such as bridges can suffer serious degradation, especially
when salt is used during winter to de-ice the highways carried by the bridges.

Figure 2.17.5. Example of fretting on a journal surface.

2.17.2.5 Erosion:
Erosion is a form of abrasion resulting in material loss caused by the impingement and cutting action of
fluid-borne particles. Common examples include the erosive wear associated with the movement of
slurries through piping and pumping equipment. The rate of erosion is influenced by the particle velocity,
particle size and the impact angle (as shown in Figure 2.17.6). It can be controlled by changing the angle of
attack and reducing the flow velocity. For ductile materials the maximum wear rate is usually found when

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the impingement angle is approximately 30°, whilst for brittle materials the maximum wear rate occurs
when the impingement angle is normal to the surface.

Figure 2.17.6. Impingement corrosion.

2.17.2.6 Cavitation:
Cavitation is caused by turbulent flow and is defined as the formation of vapour bubbles in a flowing liquid
in a region where the liquid pressure falls below its vapour pressure. Wear is caused by the resulting shock
waves as the bubbles collapse on the metal surface. An example of cavitation damage on a pump impeller
is shown in Figure 2.17.7. Cavitation is usually divided into two classes: inertial (or transient) cavitation and
non-inertial cavitation.
• Inertial cavitation is the process where a void or bubble in a liquid rapidly collapses, producing a shock wave.
Such cavitation often occurs in pumps, propellers and impellers.
• Non-inertial cavitation is the process in which a bubble in a fluid is forced to oscillate in size or shape due to some
form of energy input, such as an acoustic field. Such cavitation is often employed in ultrasonic cleaning baths and
can also be observed in pumps and propellers.

Figure 2.17.7. Cavitation damage on a pump impeller.

2.17.3 Wear testing:

The two most widely used wear test methods are described in ASTM G99 – 05 (Reapproved 2010):
Standard Test Method for Wear Testing with a Pin-on-Disk Apparatus, and ASTM G105 – 02 (Reapproved
2007): Standard Test Method for Conducting Wet Sand/Rubber Wheel Abrasion Tests.

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