The measurement of wear using AFM and wear interpretation using a contact mechanics coupled wear model

Detailed understanding of wear processes is required to improve the wear resistance and lifetime of machine components. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to measure surface height profiles with high precision, before and after a wear experiment. The distribution and depth of wear on steel surfaces is then calculated using a relocation method. A numerical investigation of wear based on Archard׳s equation is conducted on the same measured surfaces. A good correlation was found between the model and experiment for wear larger than a hundred nm. The wear mechanisms considered in the numerical simulation was thus found to be the cause of the majority of the wear. On the scale of tens of nm the correlation was limited, but the measured wear was still analysed in detail.