Micro-characterization of macro-sliding wear for steel

The wear behaviours of 65Mn and 40CrMnSiW steels were investigated by subjecting them to nanoscratch, nanoindentation, and dry sliding wear processes. A simple modified equation for calculating nanoscratch true wear volumes is developed, i.e. the true volumes are closely related to the elastic recovery angle which can be given easily. When comparing the nanoscratch phenomena with macro sliding wear, it was found that the micromechanism of the macro wear was similar to those of nanoscratching. The nanoscratching and the macro sliding wear testing represented the procedures for evaluation of single-asperity and multi-asperity contact behaviours of abrasive wear, respectively. In addition, to compare wear resistance properties of steels, the mean wear rate increased with decreases in ratio of the hardness H and the reduced modulus Er in turn, namely, the value of H/Er can help to assess the wear resistance of steels in some degree.