Engineering Tribology

Abstract

Wear by abrasion and erosion are forms of wear caused by contact between a particle and a solid material. Cavitation is caused by the localized impact of fluid against a surface during the collapse of bubbles. Although all three forms of wear share some common features, there are also some fundamental differences, for example, a particle of liquid can cause erosion but cannot abrade. The fundamental mechanisms involved in these three forms of wear and the protective measures that can be taken against them are discussed in this chapter. The three basic forms of particle-surface interaction—abrasion, erosion, and cavitation—are shown to consist of many specific wear mechanisms. Some wear mechanisms may occur in more than one form of particle-surface interaction. Abrasive and erosive wear in particular were initially thought to consist of one or two relatively simple mechanisms but it is now realized that many processes are involved and some of them are not yet well understood. Abrasive, erosive, and cavitation wear are particularly amenable to control by careful materials selection and many wear-resistant materials have been developed for this purpose.