Efficient model of evolution of wear in quasi-steady-state sliding contacts

A computationally efficient model of evolution of contact and wear is developed for a general periodic pin-on-flat problem with the focus on the pin-on-disc configuration and Archard wear model. The evolving contact state is assumed to be fully controlled by the wear process except during a short initial transient period controlled by both wear and elasticity. The contact pressure distribution is thus obtained by considering only the local wear model and the geometry of the conforming contact, without referring to the underlying elasticity problem. Evolution of the contact state is then obtained by time integration of the resulting rate-problem, and two computational schemes are developed for that purpose employing either the forward- or the backward-Euler method. The model is successfully verified against a three-dimensional finite element model. A dimensionless wear-mode index specifying the relative magnitude of wear coefficients of the contact pair is introduced, and model predictions are presented as a function of this parameter.