Paper III (iii) Wear Particle Formation in Lubricated Sliding between a Hardened Sphere and a Flat Surface

This paper describes a series of tests to study sliding wear between a hardened sphere and a smooth flat surface. It briefly reviewed a model for predicting indentation geometry and some of the sliding wear processes under plastic deformation and shear fracture conditions. Examination of the worn specimens revealed fragmented layers of sub-micron sized particles on the surface where the loading condition was less severe. Under more severe and, particularly, in dry sliding conditions, surface and near surface cracks, which resulted in the delamination of relatively large wear sheets, were observed.