2. Relationship between debris type and wear

The scope of wear debris analysis can range from simple mass assessment to detailed morphology and elemental spectral analysis. Different levels and aspects can also be considered:

• gravimetry, i.e. the total weight of debris;

• particle count determination of the number of pieces of debris larger than a certain size

• particle shape, i.e. classification into generic shapes representative of the particle type of the rupture mode;

• the color of the particles