Influence of an additional elastic stress on dry wear behaviour in reciprocating tests

This paper is concerned with an experimental investigation to assess the influence of the additional elastic bulk stress state, as imposed by an external load, on dry reciprocating wear. Results obtained from dry reciprocating wear tests on an Al7175 alloy, in contact with a 34CrNiMo6 steel pin, are presented. It is shown that the additional elastic bulk stress has a substantial influence on the wear behaviour of the materials used in this study. It is, therefore, pertinent to take it into consideration in wear assessment. A physical model, based on micro and macro surface roughness, capable of interpreting the experimental obtained results has been developed. The model proposed is a modification of the Archard's model for the prediction of wear volume, in order to take into account elastic bulk stresses imposed by external loading.