Friction and Wear of Metals with a Single-crystal Abrasive Grit of Silicon Carbide: Effect of Shear Strength of Metal

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Scientific and Technical Information Office, 1978 - Friction - 24 pages
An investigation was conducted to examine the removal and plastic deformation of metal as a function of the metal properties when the metal is in sliding contact with a single-crystal abrasive grit of silicon carbide. Also examined was the friction force in siding relative to the metal properties. Four sets of sliding friction experiments were conducted. In the first two sets, spherical silicon carbide riders slid on flat metal surfaces: one set in dry argon, and the second set in oil. In the second two sets of experiments, spherical metal riders slid on flat silicon carbide surfaces: again one set in dry argon, and the second set in oil. Single-pass sliding experiments were conducted at 250 C with loads of 5 to 40 grams (0. 049 to 0. 39 N) at a sliding velocity of 3X1O-3 m/min with a total sliding distance of 3 millimeters. The results of the investigation indicate that the friction force in the plowing of the metal and the groove height (corresponding to the volume of the groove) are related to the shear strength of the bulk metal. That is, they decrease linearly as the shear strength of the bulk metal increases. Grooves are formed in metals primarily from plastic deformation, with occasional metal removal. The relation between the groove width D and the load W can be expressed by W = kDn, which satisfies Meyer's law.

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