Discrete element model: A helpful tool for abrasion process study

Abstract

The abrasion process can be seen, from a tribological point of view, as a particular controlled wear process. A discrete element model has been used recently for a fundamental description of wear on the basis of mass conservation. After a brief description of the basis of wear description, the abrasion process is described and its particularities outlined. The discrete element model is then adapted for an initial simplified description of the abrasion process. Promising results are presented that outline how controlling the third body (the medium at the interface of two bodies in contact, which are known as the first bodies) can have a dramatic influence on the result of the abrasion process. Subsurface damage (SSD) of the first-body layer (the first-body skin) is focused upon. Finally, the development of a numerical tool adapted for abrasion process investigation is described.