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10 types of wear that impact your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Wear Phenomena Affecting Industrial Performance and TCO
All industrial tools degrade over time due to loss of material, typically caused by abrasive or corrosive substances. This material loss is always linked to the passage of an abrasive or corrosive product. Abrasive products are defined by their size, nature and shape. Factors that accelerate abrasive wear include speed, temperature and pressure.
Corrosive products, on the other hand, are defined by their ability to degrade an object through chemical reactions. When a corrosive product comes into contact with a surface, it deteriorates over time, which can take anywhere from a few days to a few years. Industries that process abrasive products see their performance decline due to abrasive wear.
This article, prepared by Welding Alloys, targets industrial sectors worldwide such as cement, mining & quarrying, steelmaking, oil & gas and recycling. It categorises wear phenomena affecting TCO, from the most to the least frequent. The aim is to help industries understand the causes of in their production facilities and present solutions available in the market to prevent and combat wear.
Understanding Wear and Its Impact
Wear phenomena increase the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for businesses. Combating wear is crucial, and a major challenge. Only a thorough understanding of wear phenomena allows for the identification of the most effective solutions, ensuring optimal performance under economic and ecological conditions.
It is important to understand the physical characteristics of all possible surface treatment solutions, such as all the metallurgical elements in welding wire compositions. Custom solutions are developed through the selection and implementation strategy of one or a mix of solutions, such as preventive and timely protective measures.
The 5 most frequent types of abrasive wear (67% of wear cases encountered in the bulk industry)
Abrasive wear is defined as damage produced by the movement of a hard particle under normal and tangential stress.
1. Low or moderate abrasion / low impact
Low abrasion results from the friction of slightly to moderately abrasive particles, often combined with light pressure.
The nature of these abrasives can vary:
- Aggregates: mines, quarries, construction and public works
- Glass: glassmaking and glass recycling
- Wood chips: paper industry
- Iron ore: steel industry
In the case of low abrasion, abrasive wear is essentially due to the volume of abrasive material passing through the transport systems and has very little effect on the processing tools.
2. Heavy abrasion / under pressure
Heavy abrasion is caused by:
- a very abrasive material under low pressure,
- a slightly or moderately abrasive material under high pressure,
- an abrasive or very abrasive material under high pressure.
As a result of this high pressure, abrasive wear on the surface leads to the formation of chips or even tearing out, hard phase unseating or plastic deformation of the matrix.
As a result of this high pressure, abrasive wear on the surface leads to the formation of chips or even tearing out, hard phase unseating or plastic deformation of the matrix.
Wear by abrasion under high pressure mainly concerns material transformation tools:
- Crushing: hammer crushers
- Grinding: vertical crushers, roller presses or gyratory crushers
- Drilling: tunnel boring machines (find out more about the Welding Alloys-Produr service on the Euralpin Lyon Turin Tunnel Boring Machine)
- Mixing: concrete mixers or glass mixers
The lifespan of equipment exposed to this level of abrasion and these abrasive materials is shorter compared to equipment subjected to moderate abrasion, by choosing the right materials, you can increase their durability against abrasive wear.
3. Erosion
Wear by erosion is very similar to wear by abrasion. The erosion process occurs when solid particles contained in a liquid or gas come into contact with the surface of the substrate at a very high speed (fans, cyclones, etc.).
The rate of wear is directly linked to the angle of incidence of the abrasive particles and their speed.
4. Shock and impact
Wear caused by impact or shock is linked to the energy transmitted to a substrate by a solid element. Energy is linked to the formula E= ½ mv² where m is the mass and v the velocity.
This means that impact energy can take many different forms: the dumping of rocks into a skip, the crushing of a car body in a hammer mill, the forging of a hammer, etc.
5. Gouging abrasion
This is low, moderate or high abrasion combined with high pressure or heavy weight.
This abrasive wear is manifested by the creation of chips and scratches on the impacted surface. Plastic deformation also accompanies this phenomenon.
Friction and contact fatigue: 20% of wear cases encountered in the industry
6. Adhesion / friction
When two metal elements rub against each other, and there is a transfer of material from one substrate to the other, this is known as “adhesive wear”.
This type of damage occurs when three factors are present: temperature, pressure, and friction. When these factors combine, the contact between surface irregularities (asperities) causes micro-fusion, which is then immediately sheared off due to movement.
These asperities are often microscopic and not visible to the naked eye, making this wear mechanism occur at a very small scale.
Several factors directly influence the rate of adhesive wear: the pressure between the two parts, the speed of friction, the temperature of the environment, the contact surface area, the cleanliness of the friction surfaces, and the surface friction coefficients.
The material’s nature also plays a significant role. Using two materials with identical crystallographic structures tends to increase the risk of adhesion. Examples of such components include continuous casting rollers, shears, and bearings.
7. Contact fatigue / fretting
Contact fatigue occurs when there is cyclic rolling or sliding between two elements.
Under these conditions, there is a sudden loss of material in the form of pitting or spalling.
Parts subjected to high-pressure sliding or rolling experience significant mechanical stress. This can lead to the formation of cracks, which propagate due to these stresses until they cause material separation or removal. Examples of such parts include gear teeth, rails, and roller presses.
Thermal fatigue wear: 5% of wear cases encountered in the industry
8. Thermal fatigue / fretting
This type of fatigue refers to wear generated by thermal cycles that are hard on the base metal. Cyclic heating and cooling of the part causes expansion and compression. The direct consequence of these stresses is the creation of cracks in the form of fissures known as “fatigue cracks”.
Example: Forging tools, hot rolling rollers.
Wear due to corrosion: 5% of wear cases encountered in the industry
9. Corrosion
This type of wear refers to the gradual degradation of materials, especially metals, through chemical reactions with their environment, resulting in surface material loss and weakened structure.
Cavitation wear: 3% of wear encountered in the industry
10. Cavitation
Cavitation occurs when a liquid undergoes a sharp change in pressure. This leads to the creation of numerous gas bubbles. When these bubbles come into contact with a solid wall, they implode, creating cavitation wear. This is also known as “cavitation erosion”.
This repeated phenomenon causes cyclic stresses and fatigue in the base metal. Fatigue cracks then lead to material separation.
Why Choose Welding Alloys?
There are several reasons why Welding Alloys should be chosen as a supplier of choice to combat wear effectively. These include:
Technical expertise: Welding Alloys is a world leader in the production of welding products dedicated primarily to repair and maintenance applications. Welding Alloys has extensive technical expertise and can provide high-quality solutions to a wide variety of welding and coating problems.
Innovation: Welding Alloys continually invests in research and development to improve the performance and durability of its wear-resistance solutions (hardfacing, corrosion-resistance, cladding, etc.).
Quality: Welding Alloys products are renowned for their quality. Welding Alloys uses carefully selected raw materials and follows rigorous production processes to guarantee high-quality end products.
Customer service: Welding Alloys places great importance on customer satisfaction. Welding Alloys offers quality customer service and is always ready to help customers solve their welding and coating problems.
Product portfolio: The most extensive range of welding alloys and wear-resistant coatings (corrosion, abrasion, impact, etc.) suitable for many industries. This means customers can source their repair and maintenance solutions from a single supplier, simplifying supplier management and logistics.
Are you facing problems with wear and tear? We can help assess the situation with a no-obligation wear audit.