A new predictive model for normal and compound impact wear

This work presents a new model that predicts the wear that results from impacts occurring between two solid bodies under both normal and compound impact, a capability lacking from existing approaches. This frequently occurs in many engineering and industrial situations and depending on the relative sizes of the bodies, bulk material properties, and the number and frequency of impacts, damage can result. Although this eventually causes severe wear problems that limit service life, it is one of the least investigated types of primary wear mechanism. Due to this, robust data, and validated models derived from that data, are rare.

The new model considers the contact with respect to shear force. It can predict wear volume loss and be used to improve understanding of the role of different impact angles during impact, and thus inform the design of machines, however it is currently valid for ductile materials only since hardness is a parameter. Empirical inputs to the model were developed using data produced specifically for this work. Predictions made by the model were then validated, with good correlation, for three common metal alloys by means of comparison with experimental data available in the literature.