The wear behavior of mild steel under vertical vibration

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate experimentally the effect of external vertical vibration on wear property of mild steel.Design/methodology/approachA pin‐on‐disc apparatus capable of vibrating the test samples in a vertical direction is designed and fabricated. The experimental setup has the ability to vary the amplitudes and frequencies of vibration while velocity of vibration is kept constant. During the experiment, the frequency and amplitude of vibration are varied from 0 to 500 Hz and 0 to 200 μm, respectively.FindingsResults show that the wear rate decreases with the increase of amplitude and frequency of vibration for mild steel. These results are analyzed by dimensional analysis to correlate the wear rate with sliding velocity, normal load, frequency and amplitude of vibration. The experimental results are also compared with those available in literature and simple physical explanations are provided. Considering the lack of correlation between wear rate and other vibration‐related operating parameters, the present research is started to find out suitable correlation and a way of reducing wear rate by applying known frequency and amplitude of vibration at a particular direction.Practical implicationsIt is expected that the applications of these results will contribute to the improvement of different concerned mechanical systems.Originality/valueThe paper can be used for design‐related purposes.