Experimental evaluation of the influence of macro circumferential residual stress on the wear resistance of some metals

To investigate the effect of residual stress on the wear resistance of metals, macro circumferential residual stresses σ^I were modelled as externally applied stress, below the yield stress of the material because residual stress cannot exceed yield stress, with a special apparatus. In order to compare the effect of residual stress on wear resistance, three different stress levels were applied to each specimen, 0 R_e, 0.5 R_e, and 0.8 R_e. A full programme of testing under all combinations of factors would be very expensive and time consuming, so, in the present case, all the other factors were fixed at constant values, while the chosen factor was varied in a controlled way in a series of tests. There has been no universally accepted theory or law on the effect of residual stress on wear resistance. In this study, the wear results for dry wear tests in terms of residual stress applied mechanically to specimens were very difficult to interpret.