Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun;477(2250):20210103.
doi: 10.1098/rspa.2021.0103. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

Asperity level characterization of abrasive wear using atomic force microscopy

Jack Walker  1 , Jamal Umer  2 , Mahdi Mohammadpour  1 , Stephanos Theodossiades  1 , Stephen R Bewsher  3 , Guenter Offner  3 , Hemant Bansal  3 , Michael Leighton  3 , Michael Braunstingl  3 , Heinz-Georg Flesch  3
Affiliations

Asperity level characterization of abrasive wear using atomic force microscopy

Jack Walker et al. Proc Math Phys Eng Sci. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Using an atomic force microscope, a nanoscale wear characterization method has been applied to a commercial steel substrate AISI 52100, a common bearing material. Two wear mechanisms were observed by the presented method: atom attrition and elastoplastic ploughing. It is shown that not only friction can be used to classify the difference between these two mechanisms, but also the 'degree of wear'. Archard's Law of adhesion shows good conformity to experimental data at the nanoscale for the elastoplastic ploughing mechanism. However, there is a distinct discontinuity between the two identified mechanisms of wear and their relation to the load and the removed volume. The length-scale effect of the material's hardness property plays an integral role in the relationship between the 'degree of wear' and load. The transition between wear mechanisms is hardness-dependent, as below a load threshold limited plastic deformation in the form of pile up is exhibited. It is revealed that the presented method can be used as a rapid wear characterization technique, but additional work is necessary to project individual asperity interaction observations to macroscale contacts.

Keywords: abrasive; atomic force microscope; friction; nanoscale; wear.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
AFM set-up. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
LEO 1530-VP SEM image of a new Adama NM-TC probe. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Microstructure of AISI 52100 surface etched with 2% Nital using an optical microscope.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Average of nine nanoindentation repetitions at each load 7−35 mN. (a) Load–penetration graphs for nanohardness test and (b) hardness–load relationship. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
(a) AFM force–displacement curve for pull-off force determination. (b) AFM continuous reciprocating scratch plotted on adhesion map [9]. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
(a) AFM continuous reciprocating scratch average cumulative volume removed for a given number of passes. (b) A typical AFM topography measurement of a scratch after eight passes. Test parameters: load: 147.0 µN; sliding speed: 1 µm s−1; distance slid: 40 µm. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
AFM interrupted reciprocating in situ scratch averaged trace–retrace coefficient of friction measurement versus number of passes. Test parameters: load: 147.0 µN; sliding speed: 1 µm s−1; distance slid: 200 µm.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
AFM continuous reciprocating scratch averaged trace–retrace friction measurement. Test parameters: load: 147.0 µN; sliding speed: 1 µm s−1; distance slid: 200 µm.
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
AFM continuous reciprocating scratch topography measurement. Test parameters: load: 147.0 µN; sliding speed: 1 µm s−1; distance slid: 40 µm. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 10.
Figure 10.
AFM continuous scratch volume measurement for the (a) removed volume and (b) pile up. Test parameters: load: 7.5–157.3 µN; sliding speed: 10 µm s−1; distance slid: 10 000 µm. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 11.
Figure 11.
(a) SEM image of AISI 52100 substrate scratches. (b) SEM image of AFM tip post-scratch.
Figure 12.
Figure 12.
AFM scratch—degree of wear with respect to normal applied load. Test parameters: load: 7.5–157.3 µN; sliding speed: 10 µm s−1; distance slid: 10 000 µm. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 13.
Figure 13.
(a) AFM continuous reciprocating scratch friction measurement versus number of passes. (b) AFM continuous reciprocating scratch friction versus load. Test parameters: load: 7.5–157.3 µN; sliding speed: 10 µm s−1; distance slid: 10 000 µm. (Online version in colour.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Holmberg K, Erdemir A. 2017. Influence of tribology on global energy consumption, costs and emissions. Friction 5, 263–284. ( 10.1007/s40544-017-0183-5) - DOI
    1. Kato K. 2002. Classification of wear mechanisms/models. Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part J J. Eng. Tribol. 216, 349–355. ( 10.1243/135065002762355280) - DOI
    1. Islam S, Ibrahim R, Das R. 2010. On cutting mechanisms during nano machining of metals. In ICONN 2010 - Proc. 2010 Int. Conf. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Sydney, NSW, 22–26 February, pp. 400–403.
    1. Bosman R, Schipper DJ. 2012. Mild wear maps for boundary lubricated contacts. Wear 280–281, 54–62. ( 10.1016/j.wear.2012.01.019) - DOI
    1. Hokkirigawa K, Kato K. 1988. An experimental and theoretical investigation of ploughing, cutting and wedge formation during abrasive wear. Tribol. Int. 21, 51–57. ( 10.1016/0301-679X(88)90128-4) - DOI

LinkOut - more resources