Mechanisms of wear of steel by natural rubber in water medium

The wear mechanisms of steel by natural rubber (NR) in water medium were investigated. The surface profile, element constitutions and binding energies of the surfaces for both steel and rubber have been analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. Moreover, the functional groups of natural rubber surfaces were examined with Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR). It has been found that the processes of wear of steel by NR involve two stages. Firstly, under the action of frictional forces, some mechanochemical reactions generated among the surfaces of steel and rubber as well as the water medium, which produced a chemical reaction film on the steel surface. Secondly, this film was destroyed and removed by the microcutting action of the debris on the sliding surface, as a result the steel surface wore off. The wear mechanisms might be mainly attributed to the chemistry–mechanics self-catalytic destruction mechanism of steel being rubbed by natural rubber.