RESEARCH ABOUT RESULTS REPRODUTIBILITY AND ABRASIVE PARTICLES FRAGMENTATION IN BALL-CRATERING TESTS

Abstract

The micro-abrasive wear tests by rotating ball (crater wear) have played an important role in abrasive wear researches. In this type of test, the contact between a specimen and a ball on rotating motion and abrasive particles supplied between these two elements, results in a crater on the specimen, based on which the abrasive wear behaviour is analysed. The purpose of this work is to study results the reprodutibility and the silicon carbide (SiC) abrasive particles fragmentation during micro-abrasive wear tests. Tests were conducted with carburized AISI 1010 steel balls and high speed steel specimens, “with” and “without” titanium nitride (TiN) coatings. The abrasive slurry was prepared with black silicon carbide (average particle size of 5 µm) and distilled water. Grooving abrasion is related with lower reprodutibility results. For the test conditions of this work, no abrasive particles fragmentation was observed, independently of the sliding distance, what is justified, among others factors, by the low normal force applied.

Keywords

• Micro-abrasive wear; High speed steel; Titanium nitride; Silicon carbide