EFFECT OF CEREAL SEED CONTRIBUTION TO THE WEAROF SELECTED MATERIALS USED TO PRODUCE SCREWCONVEYOR BLADES

Abstract

This paper presents the analysis of the process of structural material wear by cereal seeds. Two steel gradeswere subjected to testing: C45 and low-alloy steel with a micro-addition of boron. The experiment wasconducted under laboratory conditions by the “rotating bowl” method. Wheat and maize seeds were usedas an abrasive. During the testing, analyses of specimen weight and volume loss as a function of the frictiondistance were carried out. An analysis of the test material surface was conducted as well.The study results show that the C45 steel worn in maize grains exhibited a weight loss greater by 20% thanthat for the wear in wheat grains. For the abrasion-resistant steel, the difference was 22%. In both abrasivemediums, the C45 steel wore to a greater extent than the abrasion-resistant steel. For the maize grain abrasive,the weight loss value was approx. 1.5 times higher than that for the C45 steel. Similar correlations were notedfor the wheat abrasive. The abrasion-resistant steel had a wear rate approx. 1.6 times lower than the C45 steel.The dominant wear types observed on the surfaces of the test steels include ridging and micro-cutting.