Effect of Viscous Intermediate Layer on Uneven Wear of Locally Hardened Steel

• Published in: Tribology letters 2024-03, Vol.72 (1), p.21, Article 21
• Main Authors: Lyubicheva, Anastasia N., Mezrin, Alexey M., Kuznetsov, Vladimir A., Torskaya, Elena V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abrasive wear; Bearing steels; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chromium steels; Corrosion and Coatings; Laser beam hardening; Lubricants & lubrication; Materials Science; Mathematical models; Nanotechnology; Original Paper; Physical Chemistry; Rigid structures; Rubber; Sliding; Surface layers; Surface waviness; Surfaces and Interfaces; Texture; Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Thin Films; Tribology; Viscoelasticity; Viscosity; Wear resistance
• ISSN: 1023-8883; 1573-2711
• DOI: 10.1007/s11249-023-01821-5

Local laser hardening of metals and alloys is often used to obtain stable surface texture due to uneven wear. This texture keeps the lubricant on the surface. In this regard, the question arises of the influence of the properties of the lubricant, in particular, its viscosity, on the steady-state geometry of the locally hardened surface. This paper presents the results of experimental study of wear forming of locally hardened steel 100Cr6 in contact with rubber. Two lubricants were used, very different in their viscosity, saturated with abrasive particles. It is obtained that the waviness of the worn surface is asymmetric and depends on sliding direction. The effect is more noticeable for the case of wear with more viscous lubricant. In contact, especially in the presence of wear or abrasive particles, the lubricant often behaves like a viscoelastic layer, the properties of which are determined by the contact conditions and the lubricant characteristics. A new analytical model is developed to study wear of the locally hardened body in which zones have different wear resistance coefficients. In the steel-rubber contact, steel is assumed a rigid body that wears, and rubber is assumed an elastic one. Standard viscoelastic body models the intermediate layer. The steady geometry of the worn surface is presented as analytical dependence on the input parameters. The effect of viscosity in theoretical and experimental results qualitatively coincides. The influence of sliding velocity on the amplitude of the surface waviness was also analyzed; the effect of the intermediate layer is greater for low velocity. Graphical abstract