A wear test apparatus has been designed to conduct detailed measurements of the contact forces and motion during impact and sliding (and combinations of the two). After carrying out pure impact and sliding tests on Zircaloy-4 couples in air at room temperature, it appears that the test apparatus has acceptable dynamic characteristics for wear studies. In pure impact, the wear rate of Zircaloy-4 was primarily influenced by the initial impact force which was measured dynamically. Secondary vibrations had a minimal effect on the wear rate. The wear rate in pure sliding was dependent upon the characteristics of the apparatus, such as its compliance, and the test conditions. Consequently the sliding amplitude should be monitored continuously throughout the test. In general, sliding wear was more severe than impact wear and good correlation between the average sliding amplitude and weight loss was observed. An indication of the relative motion between the wear specimens was given by the magnitude and form of the coefficient of friction which tended to increase with weight loss. © 1979.
