Comparative wear testing of flooring materials

Abstract The wear behaviour of flooring materials such as rubber, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and cork was studied using three normalized test methods: Taber, Frick-Taber and abrasive cylinder (DIN 53516, Deutsches Institut fur Normung). The abrasive resistance of these materials, measured by weight loss converted to volume loss, is compared for each of the test methods. The corresponding rankings of the materials are established and discussed. The results are compared with published data concerning laboratory and field tests. A scanning electron microscope, microanalyser and stylus surface meter were used for observation and characterization of the worn surfaces, to study the wear mechanisms involved. Although there are inherent difficulties in the application of the Frick-Taber method, concerning the use of alumina abrasive powder which forms an abrasive “coating” on the worn surface of the test piece, the results obtained using this method seem to be the most realistic. In fact they are much closer to the field test results than those obtained with the other two methods, which both led to intensive tearing of the surface layers of the materials and to wear rates which were much too high.