Numerical study on wear evolution and mechanical behavior of steel wires based on semi-analytical method

Abstract

Based on the elastic contact theory and Archard's theory of wear, a mathematical model for wear evolution and mechanical behavior of steel wires in perpendicularly crossed configuration is established in the present study. The mathematical model is solved with a progressive solution process, in which a semi-analytical method (SAM) is adopted to realize the precise and fast evaluation of contact pressure, deformation and internal stress of the wires. The results show that both the wear and mechanical performances depend on the number of wear cycles and the position of moving wire along the wear movement direction. The interwire wear condition changes from sliding wear to mixed wear (both sliding wear and fretting wear) during the wear process. The wear depth during a single wear cycle has a generally uniform distribution in the wear region, except for the areas near the wear edges where oscillating distributions occur. The distribution of contact pressure is more uniform at the wear center than those at the wear edges, where obvious surface stress concentrations happen. In the initial phase of the wear process, wear scars of the wires extend rapidly and the nonuniformity of contact performance at different wear positions is distinct. As the wear process continues, the increasing rate of the wear depth decreases, and the interwire contact parameters become uniformly distributed.