Research was performed on the friction, wear and efficiency of plastic gears made of modern engineering polymers and their composites both in a clean environment (adhesive sliding surfaces) and in an environment contaminated with solid particles and dust (abrasive), with no lubrication at all. The purpose is to give a general view about the results of abrasive wear tests including seven soil types as abrasive media. At the first stage of the research silicious sand was applied between the meshing gears and the wear of plastic and steel gears was evaluated and analyzed from the point of different material properties (elongation at break, hardness, yield stress, modulus of elasticity) and its combinations. The different correlations between the experienced wear and material features are also introduced. At the second stage of the project the abrasive sand was replaced with different physical soil types. The abrasive wear of gears is plotted in the function of soil types. The results highlight on the considerable role of physical soil types on abrasive wear resistance and the conclusions contain the detailed wear resistance. The results offer a new tribology database for the operation and maintenance of agricultural machines with the opportunity of a better material selection according to the dominant soil type. This can finally result longer lifetime and higher reliability of wearing plastic/steel parts.
