Modelling abrasive wear

The abrasive wear rates of materials may be very simply related to their mechanical properties, provided wear takes place under very simple conditions. However, wear rates in many practical situations can be controlled by effects which either relate to mechanical properties in more subtle ways, or which are controlled by quite different parameters. Mechanics models of the abrasive process provide a means of linking these different effects together to understand better the effects, which may determine wear under particular conditions. They can also help to design tests to measure the properties of a material under conditions similar to those pertaining in abrasion. Some progress has been made in producing integrated models of real abrasive processes, but much more could be done to improve existing models and develop new ones.