THE DEPENDENCE OF THE TRANSITION FROM SEVERE TO MILD WEAR ON LOAD AND SURFACE-ROUGHNESS WHEN THE OXIDE PARTICLES ARE SUPPLIED BEFORE SLIDING

The effect of oxide particles supplied before sliding on the subsequent wear properties was studied by varying the normal load and the surface roughness. A critical amount of the supplied oxide existed at which severe running-in was eliminated because of the formation of the compacted oxide layer, i.e. the third body during the pre-sliding. The critical amount increased with increasing normal load. The supply of oxide particles could reduce both the severe wear in the running-in period and the mild wear in the steady state, even if the supplied oxide was less than the critical volume. The effect on the wear reduction depended on both normal load and surface roughness. The change in surface roughness was not important for reducing severe wear, but it was prominent for the mild wear rate at light loads. On the contrary, the severe wear volume was considerably reduced for specimens with rough surface, but the mild wear rate was affected a little at a heavy load. These properties were related to the formation of the compacted oxide layer. © 1990.