Comparison of laboratory wear test results with the in-service performance of cutting edges of loader buckets

The in-service cutting edge of a mining loader bucket was investigated and its wear behavior compared with samples tested in the laboratory to assess how well the wear testing methods correlate with the in-service conditions. The examined in-service cutting edge of a bucket had been run in an underground mine with quarry gravel and it was made of wear resistant steel. The wear behavior of the cutting edge was simulated in the laboratory scale with several application oriented abrasive and impact-abrasive wear testing methods. In addition to the contact mode, high loads, large abrasive size, abrasive type, and the comminution of the abrasive formed the basis for the design of the laboratory experiments. The wear surfaces and cross-sections of the original cutting edge and the test samples were characterized, and the wear behaviors were compared with each other. Work hardening of the steel occurred in all cases, but the amount of plastic deformation and the depth of the wear scars varied.