Numerical simulation of a wear experiment

A wear model including a deterministic FFT-accelerated contact mechanical tool to calculate pressure and elastic-plastic deformation, is employed to simulate the time dependent wear in a sphere on flat contact. The results of the wear simulations compared to experimental results from a reciprocating test in a ball on disk tribometer. The conditions of the simulations and the experiments are independently adjusted to match up. Similarities and differences shows upon the usefulness and limitation of wear modelling of this type. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.