Prevention of Adhesive Wear

The following guidelines are recommendations to prevent adhesive wear in metals, polymers, and
ceramics:

• Avoid sliding similar materials together, particularly metals

• If fatigue due to repeated high-contact pressure is not likely to be a problem, then high hardness is a

desired property. However, avoid sliding hard metals against hard metals in lubricated systems to avoid

scuffing and to accommodate debris

• Consider the effect of relative hardness of phases in materials. For example, a high-chromium cast iron

may have a hardness of 400 HB, which is moderate. However, that cast iron may contain Cr7C3, which

has a hardness of about four times that of 400 HB and will damage the counter surface considerably.

The same applies to polymers, which seem rather soft relative to metals. However, wear-resisting
polymers often contain glass or some other hard filler that wears metal counterfaces rather severely.

Hard phases in one body may fragment and become embedded in the counterface, which causes

abrasion if the fragments extend above the surface.

• Even if done inadequately, lubrication will reduce wear. Some lubrication can be applied by providing

an atmosphere that is corrosive in order to form surface films, many of which produce lower friction

than if that film were not present