ABSTRACT
Abrasion causes friction and wear by displacing material from one of two surfaces in relative motion. It may be caused by hard protuberances on the second contact surface or by hard particles between the surfaces or embedded in one of them. Experimental modeling and measurements can clarify the complex abrasion process and help in predicting friction and wear. The experiments can be conducted relatively simply by using a pin-on-flat sliding contact configuration. Brittle materials, such as ceramics and some intermetallic compounds, behave micromechanically in a ductile fashion up to a certain contact stress when in contact with themselves or other solids. With a brittle solid, such as a ceramic, under high contact pressure, sliding action causes gross surface and subsurface cracking as well as plastic deformation. In brittle contact frictional energy is dissipated during sliding by shearing at the interface, by plastic deformation of the soft material, and by cracking in the brittle material.
