Modified Method for Determination of Wear Coefficient of Reciprocating Sliding Wear and Experimental Comparative Study

A modified method for predicting the wear coefficient of reciprocating sliding wear was proposed in this study, which is less time-consuming. Based on this method, reciprocating sliding wear tests of three chain alloys (CM490, SS316, and TC4) under different loadings were conducted and the friction coefficient, wear coefficient, and wear morphology were obtained and compared. The results indicated that the time-variant coefficient of friction (CoF) could be used as an indicator for the stable wear state; moreover, it also changes periodically with the wear direction. Statistical analysis of friction coefficient indicated that it follows bimodal distribution or multimodal distribution. The friction and wear behaviors of CM490 and SS316 were different from those of TC4, and a detailed micro-morphological analysis indicated that the discrepancy is caused by the difference in the quantity and size of the wear debris. Furthermore, an upper limit of the contact stress-dependent wear coefficient was also observed, and the variability of the wear coefficient was also analyzed.