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SCHEMATICCURRENT · v1.0.0DIAG-PARTICLE-WEAR

Particle Wear Mechanisms in Lubricated Systems

Provides a mechanistic view of abrasive, three-body and adhesive wear in lubricated and hydraulic interfaces. The particle size that becomes critical depends on component clearance, hardness, concentration, load and lubrication regime; no universal micron threshold or filtration efficiency follows from the diagram alone.

Particle Wear Mechanisms in Lubricated SystemsThree abrasive wear mechanisms: two-body abrasion (hard particle embedded in soft surface cutting harder counter-surface), three-body abrasion (free particle rolling between two surfaces), and adhesive wear (direct metal-to-metal contact from oil film breakdown). Particle sizes shown relative to bearing clearance (0.5–5µm critical range).TWO-BODY ABRASIONCOUNTER-SURFACE (moving)sliding →SOFT SURFACEhard particle← wear groove →gapParticle embedded in soft surfacecuts groove in opposing faceTHREE-BODY ABRASIONUPPER SURFACE (moving)LOWER SURFACEFree particles roll between surfaces,abrading both contact facesADHESIVE WEARSURFACE ASURFACE Bmetal contact(no oil film)Oil film breakdown causes directmetal contact and material transferCRITICAL PARTICLE SIZE RANGE RELATIVE TO BEARING CLEARANCEEngine bearings: 0.5–5µm clearance · Hydraulic servo valves: 0.5–2µm clearanceParticles ≥4µm(c) cause measurable wear in lube oil systems (ISO 4406 / ISO 16889)ISO 4406 · ISO 16889
Three-panel illustration of two-body abrasion, three-body abrasion and adhesive wear. Particle-to-clearance relationships are shown conceptually; exact critical sizes and cleanliness targets must be established from the protected component and application.

GOVERNING STANDARDS

ISO 4406
ISO 16889

ELIMFILTERS TECHNOLOGIES

SYNTRAX™
NANOFORCE™
MACROCORE™

APPLICABLE SYSTEMS

Lubrication Protection
Hydraulic Protection

REVISION METADATA

Versionv1.0.0
Statuscurrent
Last Reviewed2026-07-08
Next Review2027-07-08

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→Contamination Control
→Failure Analysis
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