Modeling Adhesive Wear in Asperity and Rough Surface Contacts: A Review

Wear is one of the most fundamental topics in tribology and adhesive wear is argued as the least avoidable wear type. Numerical techniques have allowed advances in more realistic simulations of adhesive wear mechanisms and promoted our understanding of it. This paper reviews the classic work on wear modeling by Archard and Rabinowicz, followed by a comprehensive summary of the adhesive wear numerical models and techniques based on physical parameters. The studies on wear mechanisms at the asperity level and rough surfaces are separately presented. Different models and their key findings are presented according to the method type. The advantages and deficiencies of these models are stated and future work, such as considering more realistic geometries and material properties for adhesive wear modeling, is suggested.