Application of Continuum Damage Mechanics to Predict Wear in Systems Subjected to Variable Loading

Archard law is widely used for predicting wear volume and the rate at which adhesive wear occurs. While not explicitly stated, in processes that involve sequential loading, the Archard equation appears to be incapable of accurately predicting the wear volume. In this research, a thermodynamics-based continuum damage mechanics (CDM) procedure is applied to predict the wear coefficient for sequential loading cases in dry contact. Experimental data obtained using a pin-on-disk test rig are used to validate the model. The results show that when sequential loading is applied to a specimen, CDM method can succesfuly predict the wear coefficient. In these cases, assuming a constant value for wear coefficient results in large errors.