Rubber wear: Experiment and theory

We study the wear rate (mass loss per unit sliding distance) of a tire tread rubber compound sliding on concrete paver surfaces under dry and wet conditions, at different nominal contact pressures of sigma 0 = 0.12, 0.29, and 0.43 MPa, and sliding velocities ranging from v = 1 mu m s-1 to 1 cm s-1. We find that the wear rate is proportional to the normal force and remains independent of the sliding speed. Sliding in water and soapy water results in significantly lower wear rates compared to dry conditions. The experimental data are analyzed using a theory that predicts wear rates and wear particle size distributions consistent with the experimental observations.