Effect of pressure on abrasive wear mode transitions in micro-abrasive wear tests of WC-Co P20

The purpose of this work was to analyse the effect of the pressure (variable and constant) on the wear mode transition in ball-cratering wear tests. It was conducted using balls of 52100 steel, specimens of WC-Co P20 and abrasive slurry prepared with SiC particles and distilled water. The results showed that the conditions of variable and constant pressure had significant effects on the occurrence of the abrasive wear modes and their transitions. Under the condition of variable pressure, the transition from grooving to rolling abrasion occurred earlier than for constant pressure and the ratio A(g)/A(p) was larger for the condition of constant pressure: A(p) is the projected area of the crater, and A(g) is the projected area with grooving abrasion. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.