Study of the Influence of the Charge and the Size of the Abrasive Grains on the Wear Resistance of Wood Particles: Application to Thieghemella Heckelii, Khaya Anthotheca and Pericopsis Elata

Abstract

In this paper, the effects of normal loading and abrasive grain size on the friction and wear behaviour of two-body abrasive wear for the species Thieghemella heckelii, Khaya anthotheca and Pericopsis elata, commonly known as makore, mahogany and assamela, respectively, were investigated. The abrasion tests were conducted at a rotational speed of 40 rpm for a period of 250 s, with load levels of 250 g, 500 g, and 750 g, using abrasive wheels with grain sizes of P600, P120, P80, and P60 in dry friction conditions. Before the wear tests, a study of the physico-mechanical properties was carried out. It was found that makore is less dense and more elastic than mahogany and assamela. Furthermore, the abrasion results showed that the worn volume increases linearly with time as the pull-out strength of the wood particles increases with their elasticity. The irregularity observed in the three-body abrasion of some wood species above a particular value of abrasive grain size was observed in the abrasion of our species at all three load levels. Indeed, the abrasion technique used reveals the abrasion resistance at all angles of attack. However, the effect of the size of the abrasive grains is not observed on the variation of the friction coefficient. Furthermore, the evolution of the friction coefficient with time observed in a contact between a smooth and a rough surface was also observed when the operating conditions became stable in the contact. At high loads, the wear coefficient decreases and reaches a critical value from which the evolution is constant for the smaller grain diameters (P600) as long as the decrease is moderate for the remaining abrasive grains. Similarly, as the load increases, the friction coefficient decreases to a moderate value.