Accurate determination of wear volume of ball employed as counter sample in reciprocating sliding tests

Ball volumetric wear determination involves certain inaccuracies, which should be minimised. Although the areal surface topography measurement is currently the most accurate wear determination method, it has not yet been standardised. Therefore, this study investigates ball wear determination following reciprocating sliding using areal surface topography measurements. Ultimately, the errors are minimised, and the method is subsequently validated. Notably, the initial assumption of a flat worn surface under the existing standardised method leads to significant errors in the wear volume estimation; therefore, this method is further modified. Specifically, one additional two-dimensional profile measurement is performed at the central section of the wear track perpendicular to the sliding direction. Consequently, the modified method yields a highly accurate estimation of the ball volumetric wear. • Precise results of ball wear volume can be obtained using areal (3D) surface topography measurement. • Modification of the standardized method of ball wear estimation was proposed. • The standardised method of ball wear calculation can lead to serious errors in the estimation of volumetric wear.