Wear and wear particles—some fundamentals

Each of the various processes by which material can be lost from a surface in service leaves its fingerprint both in the topography of the worn surface and in the size, shape and number of the particles which make up the wear debris. To use debris examination as a diagnostic aid in assessing the health of operating plant, which may contain many tribological contacts, requires not only careful and standardised procedures for debris extraction and observation but also an appreciation of the mechanisms by which wear occurs and the regimes in which each of the contacts of interest operates when displayed on an appropriate operational map.