Numerical estimation of wear in reciprocating tribological experiments

In order to numerically simulate the contact pressure distribution and area during sliding when wear occurs, the combined finite element method and boundary element method (FEM–BEM) developed by the authors is extended based on a linear wear law merged with the space- and time-resolved cumulative dissipated frictional energy. In each computed time step, the dissipated frictional energy and the wear rate are determined. Simultaneously, the topography of surfaces in contact are updated after every sliding cycle, providing for each sliding cycle a new input for BEM which is consequently used to redetermine the contact pressure distribution. The numerical results obtained with the proposed FEM–BEM algorithm are found to match qualitatively well with the amount of wear observed in high-frequency reciprocating rig experiments. This demonstrates the suitability of the FEM–BEM contact scheme for wear applications.