Analytical approach for wear prediction of metallic and ceramic materials in tribological applications

Wear mechanisms, as adhesion, abrasion, fatigue and tribochemical wear, are complex in their physical and chemical nature. A theoretical description and prediction of wear are in most cases still far from reality. It is, therefore, important to use test rigs before a practical application of a given material combination under tribological loading. On the other hand, model equations can be helpful for wear description, if a single wear mechanism is dominant. Under oscillating and continuous sliding contact conditions, equations for wear calculation are presented to describe running-in and stationary wear behaviour of metals and ceramics. By using shear energy density, real area of contact, flash temperature, activation energy and numerical simulations with the method of movable cellular automata (MCA), wear data were calculated and compared to experimental laboratory results.