Abrasivity of rock and soil

Abstract

The abrasivity of rock and soil is a commonly determined property, which is used for the estimation
of the wear of excavation tools. Therefore, different laboratory test have been developed over the
last decades. Within this work, the often used LCPC- and Cerchar-test are presented. The
influence of the steel sample material on the determined abrasivity is analyzed in terms of the
tribological system, which describes the components and interactions influencing the wear of the
tunneling tools. The problems and inaccuracies in terms of the test methods are discussed and
described from the view of materials technology. To determine a sufficient wear-prediction model
for excavation tools, laboratory tests like LCPC and Cerchar are useful, but they have to be
considered in the tribological context. This means that it is necessary to map as much
characteristics as possible from the associated tribological system. The different system
components and their interactions have to be taken into account to determine a precise and
sufficient wear-prediction model. The mandatory influence of the steel sample material on the
results of the presented test methods and thus on the abrasivity of rock and soil has been pointed
out.