Frictional Wear Mechanisms.

Abstract

The report summarizes three complementary studies of seal contact, where frictional heating can lead to distortion of the contacting surfaces. The first shows that contact shear stress has negligible effect in determining contact pressure. A critical-wear-rate measure is introduced. When actual wear rate exceeds the critical value stability of contact is assured and surface distortions tend to smooth out. The second assumes the surfaces have distorted to the point where they contact only at patches, and shows when such patches can exist, again demonstrating the role of critical wear rate. The third treats the case where a liquid film separates the surfaces showing that viscous heating can lead to surface-distortion instability. Introductory material is included, showing how the problem fits into the field of tribology, reviewing the development of the project and setting the problem in historical perspective.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1975
Accession Number
ADA015720

Entities

Organizations

  • Northwestern University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Distortion
  • Engineering
  • Instability
  • Materials
  • Shear Stresses
  • Stresses
  • Tribology

Readers

  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Tribology (the study of the boundary interaction between sliding surfaces, lubrication, wear and friction).