Study on the microscopic wear mechanism of nanoparticles sliding stainless steel

In order to reveal the nanoscale friction behavior and wear mechanism of 304 stainless steel during nano particles sliding, this study investigated the effects of sliding velocity and depth on the surface morphology, temperature, mechanical forces, coefficient of friction and sub-surface damage (SSD) of stainless steel by employing molecular dynamics simulations. The results demonstrate that the atoms symmetrically stack on both sides of the sliding grooves during the sliding process. Sliding friction, friction coefficient, defective atoms, phase changing degree and the length of dislocation line increases as the indentation depth of the abrasives, while sliding velocity had little impact on them. Temperature in sliding area and the squeezing effect distinctly increases with the indentation depth the abrasives, which leads more serious damage on the surface of workpiece. The damage layer with a sliding depth of 20 Å can reach about 57.2 Å at a sliding velocity of 100 m s−1, and it has a maximum value of 41.1 Å at a sliding distance of 50 Å. However, increasing sliding velocity can decline the surface SSD layer, which was at a sliding depth of 20 Å. The microscopic atoms evolution presented in the study uncovers the nano-sliding wear mechanism of stainless steel.