The Application of Tribological Tests to Study the Wear Behavior of Asphalt Cutter Teeth: An Experimental Investigation Using Baroid Tribometer

Abstract

In this paper, the authors present the results obtained within a complex experimental program that focuses on determining the tribological characteristics of the active part (tungsten carbide tooth tip) of the cutter teeth of asphalt milling equipment. The experiments are performedunderdifferent testing conditions (in a dry environment and in water) to highlight the need to use water, when milling the asphalt coating, with the purpose to reduce the wear of milling teeth. The experimental results show that water contributes to the substantial reduction of wear rate (more than eight times) on the active area of the tooth. The proposed test method—testing with the Baroid tribometer—is intended to evaluate the tribological characteristics of the materials using parallelepiped-shaped samples. The authors of the work performed the tests on samples that represent the teeth of the milling cutter having the real shape (so not on samples). The obtained results demonstrate that the test method can be used with good results on real parts.