Scanning electron microscope observation study for identification of wear mechanism using acoustic emission technique

•AE frequency in pure sliding friction has a frequency peak of 0.1 MHz or lower.•AE signal amplitude in adhesive wear is higher than that in abrasive wear.•AE frequency in adhesive wear has a large frequency peak at around 1.1 MHz.•AE frequency in abrasive wear has a large frequency peak at around 0.5 MHz.•Wear mechanism can be identified from amplitude and frequency of AE signals.

A non-destructive acoustic emission (AE) technique that detects elastic stress waves generated by deformation and fracture is proposed for evaluating friction and wear phenomena. Specimens in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) are subject to adhesive and abrasive wear, and the resulting AE signals were analyzed. We find that the peak frequency during adhesive wear occurs at around 1.1 MHz, while that during abrasive wear occurs at around 0.5 MHz. As a result, we demonstrate that the wear mechanism can be identified from the amplitude and position of the frequency peaks of the detected AE signals.