Role of Minimum Adhesive Wear Particle Size in Third-Body Layer Properties
Son Pham-Ba, Jean‐François Molinari
Abstract
Abstract We employ a novel discrete element method (DEM) force formulation to simulate adhesive wear and assess the effects of material and loading parameters on the properties of the third-body layer (TBL) formed during sliding motion. The study emphasizes the role of a material’s critical length scale $$d^{*}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msup> <mml:mi>d</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mo>∗</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> in the rheology of the TBL. This critical length scale is already known for controlling the size of smallest wear particles. We observe the emergence of a several wear regimes involving wear particle creation and aggregation, with limited effect from $$d^{*}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msup> <mml:mi>d</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mo>∗</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> on TBL properties. Instead, material strength and surface energy have a profound influence. This study opens up new avenues for exploration of larger systems, three-dimensional setups, and other loading conditions.