A criterion for critical junctions in elastic-plastic adhesive wear

TL;DR

This paper introduces a phase-field model to analyze elastic-plastic adhesive wear, identifying a critical condition that determines when asperity contacts lead to significant debris formation, bridging brittle and ductile wear regimes.

Contribution

It presents a new continuum variational phase-field approach that captures the transition across different wear regimes and proposes a criterion for critical junctions in adhesive wear.

Findings

Identification of a critical condition for junction detachment

The model captures transition from brittle to ductile wear regimes

Proposed criterion distinguishes between negligible and significant debris formation

Abstract

We investigate elastic-plastic adhesive wear via a continuum variational phase-field approach. The model seamlessly captures the transition from perfectly brittle, over quasi-brittle to elastic-plastic wear regimes, as the ductility of the contacting material increases. Simulation results highlight the existence of a critical condition that morphological features and material ductility need to satisfy for the adhesive junction to detach a wear debris. We propose a new criterion to discriminate between non-critical and critical asperity contacts, where the former produce negligible wear while the latter lead to significant debris formation.