01 Jul 2014

New insight reveals how metals wear

Researchers have discovered a previously unknown mechanism for wear in metals: a swirling, fluid-like microscopic behaviour in a solid piece of metal sliding over another.

It is claimed the findings could be used to improve the durability of metal parts in numerous applications.

‘Wear is a major cause of failure in engineering applications,’ said Srinivasan Chandrasekar, a Purdue University professor of industrial engineering and materials engineering. ‘However, our findings have implications beyond wear itself, extending to manufacturing and materials processing.’

The findings are the result of a collaboration of researchers from Purdue, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India, and M4 Sciences, a company in West Lafayette, Indiana.

‘Using high-resolution imaging of sliding contacts in metals, we have demonstrated a new way by which wear particles and surface defects can form,’ said Purdue postdoctoral research associate Anirban Mahato, who is working with Chandrasekar; Narayan Sundaram, an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Science; and Yang Guo, a research scientist at M4 Sciences.

Findings are detailed in a research paper to appear in Proceedings of the Royal Society A.

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