What Are the Different Methods of Abrasion Testing? 

Before you deploy any materials, you need to be sure about their lifespan, meaning you must be aware of their ability to withstand various conditions that can affect their lifespan. One condition is friction which causes wear and tear, depleting the equipment and affecting its ability to do the job effectively.  

Notably, one way to determine the object's lifespan is its ability to withstand friction by subjecting it to an abrasion test which applies force to determine wear and tear. 

These tests are suitable for safety practices, especially when using movable equipment or those in contact with others. From the tests, you can determine how long to use the object before changing it or the impact of environmental conditions on its performance which can help you implement certain safety guidelines.  

Here are some abrasion tests you can do for different objects to determine resilience and safety planning.  

 

1. DIN Abrasion Test

Measuring the ability of rubber to withstand friction and abrasion can be challenging; however, with the DIN abrasion testing, the method is simpler.  

You can adjust the pressure subjected to the rubber to understand its ability to withstand various friction impacts. With the machine, you put the rubber on a holder and then allow the abrasive cloth to press against the rubber at different pressure, which you can easily set on the machine.  

Rubber Abrasion Resistance Testing procedure is ideal for testing all types of equipment since the machine is available in different sizes to meet the test demands and needs.  Conducting the test involves various processes such as preparation, measurements, setting the machine metrics, running the test then testing the outcomes.  

The machine will measure the rubber density, mass, and volume, then subject it to different revolutions (abrasion sequences), after which it will measure these properties again. The goal is to determine the level of abrasion vs. the number of revolutions to determine how much force the rubber can withstand at different pressure and rotations.  

 

2. Blade-on-Block Wear Testing

This is the best method to determine how the load could impact the stationary equipment; for instance, it determines the impacts certain loads could have on the braking systems and car springs. The process subjects the object to constant moving and normal load, which is the blade, to determine the impact of the load and movement on the block or the object.   

Besides testing the impact of load on the object, it can also be used to test the resilience of object coating when subjected to various conditions. It is ideal when used for industrial equipment vulnerable to rusting and corrosion. You can also use it to test the object's resilience when subjected to non-standard conditions that could affect its integrity. 

3. Pin-on Disk Wear Testing

When doing abrasion testing, the concern can be on the wear properties, i.e., how easily and under what conditions it can wear. One of the best ways to test for this is the pin-on-disk method which involves running a double test on two similar materials. You put on a machined pin and the other into a disk; these two methods can reveal different abrasion qualities and methods.  

The two methods subject the material to different conditions to identify the ability to wear; for instance, they determine the ability to wear under higher temperatures and when subjected to consistent abrasion at higher force and conditions. This is the best method when testing materials used daily, and they can easily rust due to the different conditions they are subjected to.  

Therefore, one way to identify the impact of the environment on various products is to run the pin-on-disk method since it can subject the material to different conditions. This allows you to determine how real-life conditions could lead to equipment abrasion. It is best done for medical, household, and other materials. 

 

4. Taber Abrasion Testing

If you have a large bulk of objects to test for abrasion effect, this is the best method since it is affordable, especially in bulk. This test aims to determine the wear rate and loss of mass, especially when the coating and top painting are affected.  

The machine creates predetermined forces created by the wheel on the object, affecting the coating and determining the ability to wear fast and withstand the conditions. When the object is subjected to constant movement with an abrasive wheel consisting of rough surfaces, it can be easy to monitor the mass loss and wear rate.  

This effectively determines how long an object can be used before replacement due to wear and tear caused by contact with movable parts. It can test for objects in contact with movable parts such as brake pads, springs, and other moving parts in a machine or vehicle.  

The test can be done in various stages, or the object can be determined by various Taber abrasion tests such as ASTM D4060, ASTM F1978-12, and MIL-A-8625.  

An object can be subjected through all these successive stages or subjected to higher levels of abrasion before a reasonable conclusion is made. It can also be used for equipment costings to test for resilience and ability to withstand constant contact with other objects.   

Conclusion 

Abrasion testing is ideal to ensure higher safety standards and guidelines and to determine how long the objects can withstand friction. Due to such safety concerns, you need to do various tests such as Taber, pink-on-disk wear, blade-on-block wear, and DIN abrasion testing.  

You can use one or select multiple tests depending on the goals and the type of object to test.