Overview
ISO 20329:2020 specifies a standardized test method for determining abrasive wear resistance of plastics using abrasive material in a reciprocating linear sliding motion. The standard defines the test principle, required test apparatus, specimen preparation and conditioning, test procedures (preliminary and main test), and calculation methods including specific wear rate (wear mass per unit load and sliding distance). ISO 20329:2020 helps produce reproducible, comparable results for abrasive wear and is used in tribology and materials evaluation.
Key Topics and Technical Requirements
- Test principle: A flat specimen faces downward and is abraded from below by an abrasive strip mounted on a wheel while the specimen undergoes horizontal reciprocating motion. After each stroke the wheel rotates slightly to expose unused abrasive.
- Apparatus:
- Wheel: metal (elastic modulus ≥ 60 GPa), diameter (50 ± 0.5) mm, width (12 ± 0.2) mm; wheel rotates 0.9° per reciprocation (400 reciprocations per full turn).
- Linear reciprocating system: 30 mm stroke, (40 ± 2) reciprocations/min.
- Loading system: up to 19.6 N, accuracy ±5 %.
- Balance resolution: 0.1 mg.
- Abrasive material: Silicon carbide abrasive paper per ISO 6344-1 recommended; strip width (12.0 ± 0.2) mm, typical length 159 mm. Grit sizes suggested: P180, P240, P320.
- Specimens: Flat specimens typically 50 × 50 mm, thickness 1–5 mm, at least 3 specimens per test. Condition specimens and abrasive 16 h in a standard atmosphere per ISO 291.
- Measurements & calculations:
- Wear mass determined by weighing before/after tests.
- Wear resistance expressed as mass loss per reciprocation (mg/reciprocation).
- Specific wear rate: mg per N·m (mass loss per unit load and sliding distance).
- Additional content: Precision data, typical apparatus illustrations, linearity of wear vs. reciprocations, and test report requirements are included.
Practical Applications and Users
- Materials engineers and test laboratories assessing abrasive wear resistance of plastics for product qualification and material selection.
- R&D and QC teams in industries where sliding abrasion is critical: automotive, consumer goods, industrial components, coatings, and polymer compounding.
- Tribologists and standards bodies comparing wear performance or validating new formulations and surface treatments.
Related Standards
- ISO 291 - standard atmospheres for conditioning and testing
- ISO 6344-1 - abrasive grain size / silicon carbide specifications
- ISO 20753 - alternative specimen shapes for plastics testing
- ISO 80000-1 - quantities and units (general)
ISO 20329:2020 provides a repeatable, well-specified method to quantify abrasive wear and compute specific wear rate, enabling consistent comparison of plastics performance under reciprocating sliding abrasion.