CONFERENCE PAPER I Updating the fracture theory of wear

So-called adhesive wear is caused by microscopic fractures on sliding surfaces. An approach is described in which the wear process is broken down into several elemental processes, i.e. formation of real contact points, action of forces on real contact points, distribution of stresses and strains, accumulation of damage in the subsurface, initiation and propagation of cracks, removal of particles leading to wear and modification of microgeometry so as to form a feedback loop. This paper discusses updated theories on selected elemental processes.