The Measurement of Abrasive Particle Shape and Its Effect on Wear

Abstract

The wear of ground-engaging tools in agriculture is affected by various soil properties, including the angularity of the abrasive particles in the soil. In an effort to quantitatively characterize the size and shape of these particles, a new technique has been used. The method is based on a Fourier analysis of the particle profiles. It yields a set of orientation invariant descriptors which quantify the size and shape of these profiles. This technique has been applied to various types of silica sand and crushed quartzite, as well as a few soil samples. The results obtained have shown that this analysis procedure can readily distinguish particles of differing angularities. A relationship has also been developed between the particle profile size and shape descriptors and the wear rates of selected steels in the dry-sand rubber-wheel test described in ASTM Standard Practice G65. This relation has enabled us to separate the influence of size and shape on the rate of abrasion. Further work is planned, and it i...