Measurement of the resistance of treated metal foils to scrubbing abrasion Using a Modified Reciprocating Wear Test

A reciprocating wear test method has been developed to evaluate the resistance of metal foils to scrubbing abrasion. Development included the definition of a quantitative measure of the scrubbing resistance. In order to test the ability of the new method to differentiate between surface treatments, four versions of Type 316 stainless steel foils were tested: annealed (A-NT), cold-worked (C-NT), annealed plus case-hardened (A-T), and cold-worked plus case-hardened (C-T). Measurements were made of their scrubbing resistance using commercial scrub cleaning pads as the cou interface material. Results showed that the case-hardening process significantly increased the scrubbing resistance both under dry conditions and with cleaning solutions to lubricate the contact. While this linearly-reciprocating method does not simulate the circular, overlapping motion commonly occurring in service, results Indicated that the new test method could sufficiently discriminate levels of two-body abrasion behavior, and therefore can be useful for studying the effects of surface treatments on abrasion resistance.