A Comparative Wear Analysis of Tool Steels: An Evaluation Based on ASTM G65 and G195 Testing Methods

Wear characterization is crucial for assessing material performance and guiding material selection for tribological applications, such as woodworking. This study investigates the wear behaviour of AISI W360 and two grades of modified A8 tool steels under coated and uncoated conditions, using the ASTM G65 dry sand rubber wheel (DSRW) and the ASTM G195 Taber abrasive tests. The wear performance of the uncoated steels varied with the tests, showing no correlation with the carbide properties. The resulting wear performance was the product of the competitive interplay between carbide properties, with uniform fine carbide distribution and average size being the most significant factors in the DSRW and Taber tests, respectively. The wear mechanism was predominantly microcutting, independent of the microstructure in the Taber test. However, the samples in the DSRW test exhibited microcutting and material pull-out, resulting in the formation of cavities, depending on the carbide volume fraction. On the other hand, the wear performance of the coated tool steels correlated with the coating thickness in the DSRW test, Macroparticle (MP) density, and roughness in the Taber test. The wear performance, despite being the product of the interaction between coating properties, was more impacted by the hardness and coating thickness in both tests. Additionally, the wear mechanism was independent of the coating properties in the DSRW test, whereas higher MP density and lower hardness resulted in adhesive coating failure and microgrooving, respectively, in the Taber test. Further mathematical modeling to facilitate the conversion of wear volumes between both tests revealed limited predictive accuracy. These findings underscore the complexity of the wear behaviour of coated and uncoated tool steels showing significant variation with the test method.