Sponsored by ‘The Research Committee on Lubrication An ASME Centennial Research Project The American Society of Mechanical Engineers United Engineering Center 345 East 47th Street New York, New York 10017Wear Theory and Mechanisms J.F. Archard The University Leicester, England : = + a-ring is worn thin next to the finger with continual rubbing. Dripping water hollows a stone, a curved ploughshare, iron though it is, dwindles imperceptibly inthe furrow. We see the cobble stones of the highway worn by the feet of many wayfarers. The bronze statues by the city gates show thei right hands worn thin by the touch of all travellers who have greeted them in passing. We see that al these are being diminished since they are worn away. But to perceive what particles drop off at any particular time is a power grudged to us by our ungenerous sense of sight.” Lucretius (95-55 B.C.) De rerum natura, I NOMENCLATURE ‘Area of true contact ‘Area of apparent contact Cross-sectional area of plastically deformed res [Eq. (20)} Area of true contact at one asperity contact (Eq. (13a)] [ei =A] Radius of circular area of contact Lateral dimension of model asperity (Fig. 7) Depth of wear (Eq. (16)] Ratio of roughness to lubricant film thickness [Eq. (29b)] ‘Young’s moduli of two contacting bodies Reduced elastic modulus [Eq. (1d)] Frictional force Indentation hardness (D.P.N.) ‘Numerical constant [Eq. (11¢)] Coefficient of wear Coefficient in adhesive wear theory, K, = 3K, [Eqs. (14b), (15)] = Coefficient in abrasive wear theory, [Eqs. (24), (15)] K, = Coefficient in corrosive wear theory, [Eqs. (28), (28a)} 35WEAR CONTROL HANDBOOK L = Sliding distance 4L = Increment of sliding distance for one asperity contact [Eq. (13¢)] Lana. Power law relation between area and load [Eq. (9b)] Pressure Maximum Hertz contact pressure [Eqs. (1b), (2)] Mean Hertz contact pressure (Eq. (1b)] Apparent contact pressure [Eq. (16)] Radial coordinates Radius of curvature = Relative radius of curvature [Eq. (1e)} ‘Shear strength of junction (Eqs. (7a, b)] ‘Time of sliding (life of bearing) (Eq. (17)) Transition loads in the wear of steels (Fig. 9) Velocities of surfaces in the kinematics of lubrication (Fig. 13) Volume of wear Incremental volume of wear from one asperity contact, V=E6V, (Bq. (130) Volume of plastically deformed material [Eq. (20)] = Sliding velocity ‘Advance of rigid surface in deformation of single model asperity Fig.) Normal load Increment of load borne by a single asperity contact (Eq. (13a)] Critical loads in elastic/plastic transition in contact mechanics Eqs. (4), (6a, b) and Fig. 5] Coordinates (Fig. 3) Yield stress in uniaxial tension (Eq. (5)] Depth of abrasive indentation (Fig. 12) Approach of bodies in elastic contact [Eq. (1e)] Correlation distance: lateral scaling factor in surface topography related to average wavelength (Fig. 3 and Eq, (12b)] Viscosity | Controlling viscosity in ehd lubrication (viscosity at atmospheric pressure and at ambient temperature of the surfaces) Semi-angle of abrasive indentor (Fig. 12) Mean value of Cot # for all abrasive grits Critical thickness of film in corrosive wear theory [Eq. (26b)] Ratio of ubricant film thickness to surface roughness [Eq. (29a)] Poisson’s ratios of contacting bodies | rms value of heights in a surface profile ms value of asperity heights in a model surface Alternative statements of the Plasticity Index (Eqs. (12a, b)] representing the probability of plastic deformation of a surface in its contact