Finite-element modeling of dry sliding wear in metals

This paper is concerned with the calibration and validation of a finite-element model of dry sliding wear in metals. The model is formulated within a Lagrangian framework capable of accounting for large plastic deformations and history-dependent material behavior. We resort to continuous adaptive meshing as a means of eliminating deformation-induced element distortion, and of resolving fine features of the wear process such as contact boundary layers. Particular attention is devoted to a generalization of Archards law in which the hardness of temperature material is allowed to be a function of temperature. This dependence of hardness on temperature provides a means of capturing the observed experimental transition between severe wear rates at low, speeds to mild wear rates at high speeds. Other features of the numerical model include surface evolution due to wear; finite-deformation J(2) thermoplasticity; heat generation and diffusion in the bulk; non-equilibrium heat-transfer across the contact interface and frictional contact. The model is validated against a conventional test configuration consisting of a brass pin rubbing against a rotating steel plate.