Study of Cross-Scale Micro-Motion Wear Characteristics of Metallic Rubber

Abstract Metal rubber (MR) is a kind of elastic porous material with a complex and disordered internal structure, which results in wear characteristics that can only rely on tests but cannot meet the engineering application. This paper presents an exciting method for studying wear characteristics based on its virtual fabrication technology. By developing the intricate internal multipoint random contact mesh model of MR, a virtual real-time dynamic tracking contact point in a different state is captured. A thorough investigation is conducted into the contact point properties, point distribution, and the interaction of discrete contact points in MR interior space. Accordingly, a cross-scale micro-motion wear study method from micromorphology to macroscopic performance is proposed. The continuous wear cycle of MR is discretized into multiple single-turn metal wire elements by applying the principle of equal spacing. A statistical model of internal contact point wear of MR at the microlayer is developed considering the metal wire’s single-turn fretting wear prediction model. The cumulative prediction model of macroscopic wear damage of MR is based on the superposition of micro-element interval. Finally, the difference between the mass loss and that obtained from the simulation analysis after performing dynamic loading tests at different cycles was studied and found to be insignificant.