Abrasion

Abrasive wear is commonly caused when a hard surface runs over a soft surface resulting in a loss of material. Abrasive wear is equally caused by softer materials with a high cyclic interaction on harder objects. During the process of abrasive wear, small particles are removed from the surface of both materials and when trapped between the two materials, cause aggravated wear. This is known as two-body and three-body abrasive wear. Particles can also enter the surface from an outside source during a three-body abrasive wear process.

There are three different forms of abrasive wear, these are: wedge forming, microcuting and ploughing. The severity and type are determined by factors such as varying loads, particle hardness, particle shape and wear resistance of the material subject to the abrasive wear. All three forms can materialise during a process, and if unattended, these can lead to equipment failure, increased maintenance cycles and costs, plant downtime, and an increase in total cost of ownership (TCO).

When plants and equipment fitted with our range of Hardplate^™, Hardlite^™ and Tuffplate^™ chromium and complex carbide-based wear-resistant materials experience abrasive wear, they are shown to benefit from increased productivity, lower maintenance requirements, and decreased TCO.