| Abstract: | Three-body abrasive wear rate was measured as a function of abrasive size and applied load using molybdenum alloy spheres of diameter 25.4 mm as test specimens. Diamond abrasives in the size range 1–60 μm normally used for metal lapping were tested. Tests were conducted at lap loads ranging from 9.8 to 107.9 N. For a given load it was found that there is a maximum abrasive size beyond which the wear rate will not increase and may even decrease. Several explanations of this critical size effect reported in the literature were evaluated on the basis of physical evidence.Wear rate generally increases linearly with increasing load. However, this did not occur with small abrasives. This deviation from linearity was found to be the result of an unusually effective abrasive wear condition. An explanation of this effect is given. |
