A technique to study abrasive wear in contacts with particulate materials

A rig has been developed to study the abrasive wear of materials in sliding contact with solid particles. The equipment has a wide pressure and velocity range and can be used to simulate the tribological conditions inside pulverizers. Using the rig, a number of different materials have been tested and classified according to their resistance to abrasive wear in rubbing contact with particulate coal. The investigation was divided into two parts, in each part a different shape of grinding blade (test material) was used in order to focus attention on the different wear phenomena. Tests with triangular blades can provide useful information about the wear properties of various materials. Apart from the maximum wear resistance, the initial drop in wear resistance IDWR can be determined. The value of IDWR gives information about the contribution of the brittle fracture of the sharp edges and asperities to the total wear of the blade.