Abrasive wear is encountered when a hard surface in relative motion is in contact with a soft surface. It is one of themajor cause of material wastage and loss of mechanical performance. The abrasive wear resistance of a material is studied using various test rigs including a pin-on-drum test rig. A pin-on-drum tribo testing device developed is capable of evaluating the abrasive wear characteristics of polymers,metals,ceramics and their composites.

The abrasive medium is fixed to the drum which can rotate at different speeds. The specimen in the form of cylindrical pin is loaded on the top using dead weights. Normal load and suitable specimen can be selected to simulate the operating stress conditions.

The pin, which is fixed to the carriage, is capable of moving horizontality over the drum, while the drum is capable of rotating over its axis. Two separate drives for the drum   and the carriage are provided which allows running the drum and the carriage at variable speeds. A non contact displacement transducer measures the online linear dimensional changes in the test samples.