Abrasive Wear in Uni-directional Friction and Reciprocating Friction

A comparison of abrasive wear between uni-directional friction and reciprocating friction was made on annealed plain carbon steels sliding aginst fresh Al2O3 abrasive clothes and repeatedly used ones. Wear tests of the two sliding modes were carried out with a testing machine remodeled from a lathe under similar conditions in air. The experiments indicated that in case of fresh abrasive clothes, a heavier wear always resulted from uni-directional friction, and the wear differrences between the two sliding modes increased with increasing normal forces and abrasive garin sizes; in case of repeatedly used ones, a heavier wear resulted from reciprocating friction in steady conditions. The wear differences between the two sliding modes can be explained in terms of the differences in the degree of work-hardening of the rubbed surfaces and the amount of the abrasive grains being blunted, fractured, eroded out of the resin base, clogged and capped with metal chips etc.