Numerical calculation of wear in mechanical systems

The simulation of wear processes is dominated by the feedback between system dynamics and wear, which have completely different characteristic time scales. We present a method for decoupling the time scales. Its central ideas are the introduction of a wear density on the entire wearing surface and the establishment of an evolution equation in the slow time scale. The sample problem of a wearing disk rolling on a rigid rail is studied. In particular, we discuss the non-monotonous influence of the speed on the wear evolution and on the polygonalization of wheels.