Paper XIII(ii) Some effects of hardness and microstructure on the lubricated wear of steels

A study of the separate influences of hardness and microstructure on wear rate has been attempted, by the selective thermal treatment of AISI 4340 Steel. Martensitic microstructures gave consistently higher wear, for a given hardness, than the bainite-and ferrite/pearlite-containing microstructures that were examined. There was evidence that the predominant wear processes were different for different microstructures. A transition to relatively high rates of wear was observed with the softer martensitic structures. This transition has been qualitatively modelled by combining criteria for the plastic flow of areas of contact with an existing elastic model for the contact of rough surfaces. Significant influences of surface topography and boundary friction on the transition to high wear are indicated, which could have consequences for the manufacture and lubrication of critical mechanisms, e.g. gear and cam systems.

[1]  John I. McCool,et al.  Comparison of models for the contact of rough surfaces , 1986 .

[2]  E. Rabinowicz,et al.  The Wear Coefficient—Magnitude, Scatter, Uses , 1980 .

[3]  M. P. Dare-Edwards,et al.  A Raman Microscope Technique for Studying Liquids in a Diamond Anvil Cell , 1984 .

[4]  L. E. Goodman,et al.  The Stress Field Created by a Circular Sliding Contact , 1966 .

[5]  D. Hills,et al.  Some useful results in the tangentially loaded hertzian contact problem , 1983 .

[6]  J. Sullivan,et al.  Origins and development of oxidational wear at low ambient temperatures , 1984 .

[7]  P.L.B. Oxley,et al.  Prediction of Archard's wear coefficient for metallic sliding friction assuming a low cycle fatigue wear mechanism , 1986 .

[8]  B. Mikic,et al.  THERMAL CONTACT CONDUCTANCE; THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS , 1974 .

[9]  D. Bogy,et al.  An Elastic-Plastic Model for the Contact of Rough Surfaces , 1987 .

[10]  A. Bos.  A contribution to the theory of wear — the abrasive wear of a soft surface against a rough hard surface , 1978 .

[11]  J. Archard.  Contact and Rubbing of Flat Surfaces , 1953 .

[12]  D. Whitehouse,et al.  The properties of random surfaces of significance in their contact , 1970, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[13]  J. Greenwood,et al.  Contact of nominally flat surfaces , 1966, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[14]  T. Childs,et al.  The sliding wear mechanisms of metals, mainly steels , 1980 .