Experimental investigation of three-body wear for rubber seals in abrasive slurry environment

Three-body wear is a complex phenomenon occurring when abrasive particles present between two material surfaces. By developing a new experimental setup, we systematically study wear at the contact between stainless steel and three different rubbers (TPU, NBR and LSR) in a slurry environment, i.e. water containing sand particles. Results showed that wear on both metal and rubber pads increases exponentially with the sliding speed, while a weak correlation was observed with the applied normal load for the given range of load. Wear analysis showed that the stainless steel experienced the most wear when in contact with NBR and the least when in contact with LSR. The TPU rubber pads experienced the most wear, whereas the LSR pads barely exhibit any wear when in contact with the stainless steel. Furthermore, frictional measurements indicated an inverse relationship between the system coefficient of friction and the amount of wear observed on the rubber elements. These observations are discussed in terms of the probability of the sand particles being clung to the rubber pads, after which they abrade the steel surface. This probability is justified as a function of the rubber material properties and the system friction coefficient. The findings in this study suggest new directions for minimizing three-body wear at the contact between metals and rubbers.

Automated summary

Three-body wear is a complex phenomenon that occurs when abrasive particles are present between two material surfaces. In this study, the wear between stainless steel and three different rubbers (TPU, NBR, and LSR) in a slurry environment was systematically investigated using a new experimental setup. The study found that wear on both metal and rubber pads increased exponentially with sliding speed, while the applied normal load had a weak correlation within the given range. It was also observed that the stainless steel experienced the most wear when in contact with NBR and the least wear when in contact with LSR. TPU rubber pads experienced the highest wear, while LSR pads showed minimal wear when in contact with stainless steel. Friction measurements indicated an inverse relationship between the system coefficient of friction and the amount of wear on the rubber elements. These findings suggest new directions for reducing three-body wear between metals and rubbers.