Abrasive wear of embossed surfaces with convex domes

► In this study we carried out the abrasive wear of the embossed surface with convex domes based on the soil-burrowing animals' cuticle geometrical surface feature. ► Seven specimens of embossed surface were prepared and their abrasive wear properties were experimentally tested. ► It was demonstrated that the obtained results showed that the guiding effect of the convex domes is significant. ► It was found that an abraded volume reduction of 58.1% was recorded for the objective domes and the bio-inspired embossed surface is an effective surface for abrasion reduction method. ► The larger abrasive particles generally caused higher abrasive wear due to the higher stress concentration induced in the embossed surface. ► In addition, higher velocities of the abrasive material generated higher wear due to the higher momentum of the abrasive particles.