ABSTRACT
This chapter gives the pathway for designing a tribocorrosion experiment allowing separation of the mechanical, corrosive and synergetic contributions to the total loss of material. The general features of the tribocorrosion mechanism are presented emphasising the meaning and origin of the interplay between mechanical and reactive phenomena. A more detailed formulation of the problem is proposed in the framework of the active wear track. Based on this description, conditions are presented for performing a meaningful tribocorrosion experiment by combining tribological and electrochemical requirements. Emphasis is put on features specifically oriented towards a test based on the active wear track concept. A simplified tribocorrosion model is derived in terms of a repassivation function describing empirically a number of literature data in the field. The current responses to the various tribological regimes involved in the test are then derived and their relationships to the components of the main equation describing the test explained. Finally, the main limitations to the applicability of the test are discussed. The experiments to be implemented in this test are listed.
