Ball cratering test on ductile materials

Micro-abrasive wear test, also called ball cratering test, is normally used to investigate the wear behavior of hard bulk materials or wear-resistant coatings. In this work, this test was used to investigate the wear behavior of metallic samples. The results showed that the embedment of abrasive particles and the formation of grooves in the crater's surface may induce to artificially small wear coefficient when the test is applied to ductile materials. Surface grooving was observed when the normal force applied by the sphere was higher than a critical value. This critical value depends on the hardness and mechanical strength of the material being tested.

► Wear coefficient from ball cratering test on ductile materials can be falsely low.
► The embedment of abrasive particles during test decreases the wear abrasion.
► The abrasive particles buried inside the surface mask the wear abrasion behavior.
► The embedment of particles depends on the hardness of the tested material.