Micromechanical Modeling for the Damage Accumulation and Adhesive Wear of Metallic Materials Containing Inclusions

Abstract

Abstract Metallic materials usually contain some amounts of inclusions which are known to affect their mechanical properties since the bonding strength of the matrix–inclusion interface is relatively low, voids or cracks are thus easily formed under a tensile loading. However, under a contact loading, the effects of subsurface inclusions on the sliding wear of metallic materials are not thoroughly understood. In this work, a micromechanical model is proposed to study the shear fracture and wear of metallic materials containing random inclusions. With the model, crack branching and crack aggregation during contact loading are simulated, and the formation process of sheet-like wear particles is clarified. It is demonstrated that the subsurface micro-cracks, particularly those near inclusions, and their subsequent evolution play a major role in the adhesive wear. This investigation is helpful in understanding the adhesive mechanism of wear, and the proposed model could be a promising approach for the prediction of adhesive wear.