Finite-element modeling of dry sliding wear in metals

This paper is concerned with the calibration and validation of a finite-element model of dry sliding wear in metals. The model is formulated within a Lagrangian framework capable of accounting for large plastic deformations and history-dependent material behavior. We resort to continuous adaptive meshing as a means of eliminating deformation-induced element distortion, and of resolving fine features of the wear process such as contact boundary layers. Particular attention is devoted to a generalization of Archard’s law in which the hardness of the soft material is allowed to be a function of temperature. This dependence of hardness on temperature provides a means of capturing the observed experimental transition between severe wear rates at low speeds to mild wear rates at high speeds. Other features of the numerical model include: surface evolution due to wear; finite-deformation J2 thermoplasticity; heat generation and diffusion in the bulk; non-equilibrium heat-transfer across the contact interface; and frictional contact. The model is validated against a conventional test configuration consisting of a brass pin rubbing against a rotating steel plate.