Abstract In many industrial devices, impact-sliding wear is caused by a variety of complex vibrations between the contacted interfaces. Under actual conditions, impact and sliding motions do not occur in only one direction, and different complex impact-sliding motions exist on the tribology surfaces. In this study, an impact-sliding wear test rig is developed to investigate the wear effect of different complex motions. Using this rig, multi-type impact-sliding wear effects are realized and measured, such as those derived from unidirectional, reciprocating, and multi-mode combination motions. These three types of impact–sliding wear running behavior are tested and the wear damage mechanism is discussed.
