Characterization of the effects of embedded quartz layer on wear rates in abrasive wear

Understanding how the wear environment and the history of the wear surfaces affect wear and wear rates is extremely important in many applications. It has been earlier observed that there is a clear difference in the wear behavior of WC-Co hard metals and wear resistant steels when abraded with granite or quartz gravel. Quartz is abrading WC-Co more than granite, whereas for wear resistant steels the wear rates are higher when the abrasive is granite. In this study, the ability of embedded small quartz particles to protect the wear surfaces from excessive wear was determined. Hard metals, metal matrix composites, and several types of steels were studied to find differences in their wear behavior. Running-in of the specimens was performed using quartz or granite abrasives to create surfaces with and without embedded quartz. Only granite was used as abrasive in the actual wear tests. The durability of the embedded quartz layer developed during the running-in was studied by subsequently running the specimens with granite until they reached the same wear rate as achieved in running-in with granite. Characteristics of these layers on different substrates were further determined by scanning electron microscopy.