A contribution towards improving the applicability of laboratory wear tests in practice.

In previous wear tests, it was frequently found that a systematic analysis of the applicability of the obtained results to practical systems was lacking. An attempt was made to study the applicability of wear test results with the aid of the system analysis and the similarity laws. The test conditions under which a good qualitative applicability of wear results can be expected were determined. For checking the applicability of wear test results, suitable material and surface studies were introduced. The considerations described with regard to the applicability of wear test results are summarised in a flow chart demonstrating how to perform the applicable wear tests. (from authors' abstract)