PermanentCharpy
Materials
Good day all,
Without going into too much detail, I have a piston which reciprocates inside a hardened sleeve, lubricated by an oil/water mixture. The piston is a sacrificial part in the larger system and is manufactured with wear rings machined into the outer diameter. Once the rings are no longer visible, the piston is removed and replaced. The material grade from which we previously made this piston is no longer available, and we would like to make replace it with a cheaper, more readily available steel. I do not want the new material to wear at a lower rate than the old - it must wear at the same, or higher rate.
My basic understanding of wear rate is that:
1. Hardness is by far the most important factor in how much the piston will wear. Harder steel = less wear.
2. Micro-structure & Chemistry will play a minor role in how much the piston wears, independent of hardness.
Based on the above assumptions I have made, as long as the Hardness of the new material is lower than or equal to that of the old, there should be no issue.
tl;dr: In lubricated, sliding contact, (all other factors - surface finish, abrasive medium, etc the same) will the hardness of the materials in contact play the greatest role in determining wear rate, or are there other factors to be weary of?
Without going into too much detail, I have a piston which reciprocates inside a hardened sleeve, lubricated by an oil/water mixture. The piston is a sacrificial part in the larger system and is manufactured with wear rings machined into the outer diameter. Once the rings are no longer visible, the piston is removed and replaced. The material grade from which we previously made this piston is no longer available, and we would like to make replace it with a cheaper, more readily available steel. I do not want the new material to wear at a lower rate than the old - it must wear at the same, or higher rate.
My basic understanding of wear rate is that:
1. Hardness is by far the most important factor in how much the piston will wear. Harder steel = less wear.
2. Micro-structure & Chemistry will play a minor role in how much the piston wears, independent of hardness.
Based on the above assumptions I have made, as long as the Hardness of the new material is lower than or equal to that of the old, there should be no issue.
tl;dr: In lubricated, sliding contact, (all other factors - surface finish, abrasive medium, etc the same) will the hardness of the materials in contact play the greatest role in determining wear rate, or are there other factors to be weary of?
