A slip-line plasticity analysis of abrasive wear of a smooth and soft surface sliding against a rough (fractal) and hard surface

Abrasive wear of a soft and smooth surface sliding against a rough (fractal) and hard surface was analyzed by the slip-line theory of plasticity. The analysis is based on a slip-line model of a rigid spherical asperity (wear particle) plowing through a soft surface and removing material by microcutting. Integration of this single-contact model into a three-dimensional contact mechanics analysis of an abrasive surface exhibiting multi-scale roughness described by fractal geometry yielded relationships of the abrasive wear rate and wear coefficient in terms of the interfacial shear strength (adhesion), topography (fractal) parameters of the hard/rough surface, elastic–plastic material properties of the soft/smooth surface, and total normal load. Analytical results from the single-contact analysis provide insight into the deformation of a perfectly plastic material caused by the abrasive action of a rigid asperity/wear particle under different normal load and interfacial friction (adhesion) conditions. The dependence of the abrasive wear rate and wear coefficient on normal load (global interference), roughness of the abrasive surface, elastic–plastic material properties of the abraded surface, and interfacial shear strength (lubrication effect) is interpreted in the context of numerical results obtained for representative ceramic/ceramic, ceramic/metallic, and metal/metal sliding systems.