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Nitride-bonded silicon carbide is an alternative to steels resistant to abrasive wear. This paper presents the results of a nitride-bonded silicon carbide (SiC) wear test in diverse soil conditions. The test was performed on a “spinning bowl” test stand on three soil types: loamy sand, light loam and ordinary loam. The results were referred to the wear test for materials used to make parts working soil mass, i.e., abrasive wear-resistant steel, boron steel and C + Cr + Nb padding weld. The abrasive wear resistance of silicon carbide was shown to depend on the grain size distribution of the soil being worked. Silicon carbide showed the highest resistance in light soil. However, the padding weld showed higher wear resistance in the other soil conditions. Nitride-bonded silicon carbide had higher wear resistance than the steels under study in all of the soils. These findings are supplemented by an analysis of the condition of the worked surfaces after friction tests. The dominant wear methods in all abrasive masses were micro-cutting and furrowing.

This paper presents a study of PE–LD and PE–HD as modifiers of elastomers used in mobile tracks on their tribological wear. The experiment was conducted at a “rotating bowl” test stand in three types of soil mass: light, medium, and heavy soil. Based on measurements of mass wear of the tested materials, relative resistance to wear was determined. It was found that an elastomer containing chemically modified polyethylene (PE–HD) was more resistant to wear than an elastomer containing low-density polyethylene (PE–LD). Using a microscope, the condition of the material surfaces following tribological tests was analysed.

This paper presents the results of comparative research on materials used for a track steering system in an abrasive soil mass. Two types of elastomer tracks were tested: a steel-rubber stave from an asphalt paver and a rubber overlay used in vehicles with a steel track chain. The results obtained were related to the wear of Hadfield steel. The tests were carried out on a “spinning bowl” stand in a natural soil mass, which consisted of two types of soil: light and heavy. It was shown that the resistance to abrasive wear depended on the grain size of the worked soil and the chemical composition of the materials. Rubber overlay was found to have the highest resistance index in all types of soils. It was made of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, ethylene acrylate/ethyl copolymer (ethylene acrylate 18%) and ethylene/propylene copolymer with an ethylene content of 60%. An analysis of the condition of the machined surfaces after friction tests complements the results presented.

This paper is concerned with the possibility of applying modern non-contact methods for assessing the wear as a result of tribological interaction between working bodies and the soil. An original method for wear testing using the test space discretization based on the 3D scanning technology was employed. A localized volumetric wear coefficient was proposed, allowing for wear analysis and improving the accuracy of the Holm-Archard model. The coefficient of local volumetric wear shows the influence of the nominal shape and the slip trajectory of the abrasive particle along the elementary surface on the intensity of wear. At local volumetric wear coefficient > 0.3, this factor determines the intensity of surface wear. Volumetric wear characteristics are the basis for prediction of wear consequences for different materials and techniques of reinforcement of working surfaces, subject to intensive wear in abrasive soil mass. The reliability of the study is confirmed by the comparison with the mass method for wear assessment and the results of the application of the proposed method for different conditions of abrasive wear of operating parts.