Surface roughness evolutions in sliding wear process

Wear debris analysis is a technique for machine condition monitoring and fault diagnosis. One key issue that affects the application of wear debris analysis for machine condition monitoring is whether the morphology of the wear particles accurately depicts their original states and the surface morphology of the components from which the particles separate. This study aimed to investigate the evolution of the surface morphology of wear debris in relation to change in the surface morphology of wear components in sliding wear process. Sliding wear tests were conducted using a ball-on-disc tester under proper lubrication and improper lubrication conditions. The study of the particle size distribution and the surfaces of both the wear debris and the tested samples in relation to the wear condition and the wear rates of the wear components were carried out in this study. The evolutions of the surface topographies of both the wear debris and the wear components as wear progressed were investigated. This study has provided insight to the progress of material degradation through the study of wear debris. The results of this research have clearly demonstrated that: (a) there is a good correlation of the surface morphology of wear debris and that of the wear components, and (b) the surface morphology of wear debris contains valuable information for machine condition monitoring.