Investigation into wear of Ti–6Al–4V under reciprocating sliding conditions

Wear behaviour of titanium alloy, Ti–6Al–4V under fretting-reciprocating condition was characterized under different loading conditions, contact surface conditions and contact configurations. Six series of tests were analyzed to investigate the effects of relative slip, contact load, number of cycles, bulk cyclic stress, contact geometry, and a lubricant. Dry and lubricated surface conditions produced “W” (scar with multiple valleys) and “U” (scar with single valley) shaped scars on both specimen and pad, respectively. WV (wear volume) was linearly related to the cumulative product of contact load and relative slip and to the total dissipated energy under different loading and sliding conditions for the cylinder-on-flat as well as flat-on-flat contacts for dry and lubricated conditions. The microscopy of wear scars showed that the wear was caused by both the adhesion and abrasion processes.