Abrasive wear occurs when hard particles or rough surfaces scrape against a material, removing small amounts of material through cutting or plowing. It’s common in environments like mining, drilling, and machining where debris or hard contaminants are present.
Adhesive wear, by contrast, happens when two metal surfaces slide against each other under load. Microscopic high points weld together under pressure, and fragments transfer from one surface to another. This type of wear is often seen in gears, bearings, and metal components under boundary lubrication.
Both forms of wear can cause serious material loss over time but involve different mechanisms.