Abrasion Test — ISO 5470 / ASTM D4060 / ISO 12947

What Is Abrasion?

The abrasion test is a test in which the specimen is rubbed against a standard abrasive surface at a defined load and number of cycles, evaluating surface degradation. The result is given as mass loss, change in appearance, or number of cycles to breakthrough.

Purpose of Abrasion

The purpose is to determine how much friction-related wear the surface will withstand during use.

Which Products Is Abrasion Applied To?

Upholstery and apparel fabrics
Paint and powder coatings
Plastic surface parts
Floor coverings
Leather and synthetic leather

In Which Sectors Is Abrasion Used?

MetalSteelMachineryIndustrial EquipmentPlastics

Standards Related to Abrasion

ISO 5470-1
ISO 5470-2
ASTM D4060
ISO 12947-1
ISO 12947-2

Abrasion Conditions

Method: Taber rotating wheel or Martindale arrangement
Abradant: Wheel type or abradant fabric defined in the standard
Load: Typically 250 g, 500 g or 1000 g per the standard
Environment: Conditioning at 23 °C / 50% relative humidity (textiles and polymers)

Equipment for Abrasion

Taber abraser
Martindale abrasion tester
Precision balance
Conditioning room

Sample Requirements for Abrasion

The specimen is cut to a size fitting the machine's specimen holder
Mass and appearance are recorded before the test
The abradant element must be renewed at the intervals defined in the standard
Generally at least three specimens per set

Duration of Abrasion

It depends on the number of cycles. In textiles, testing to breakthrough can reach tens of thousands of cycles and take several days.

Abrasion Procedure

1Specimens are conditioned and initial mass is measured.
2The abradant element and load are fitted per the standard.
3Abrasion is applied up to the defined number of cycles.
4The specimen is examined at specified interim points.
5Mass loss, change in appearance, or the breakthrough cycle is recorded.

Abrasion Acceptance Criteria

The acceptance criterion is given in the specification as a maximum mass loss, minimum number of cycles, or an appearance grading.

Evaluation of Results

Mass loss and visual assessment are used together. In textiles, pilling and yarn breakage are graded separately.

Abrasion Report

Standard and method applied
Abradant type, load and number of cycles
Conditioning conditions
Mass loss and appearance assessment
Breakthrough cycle (if any)

Accreditation

EUROLAB holds internationally recognised accreditation obtained from accreditation bodies party to the IAF and ILAC multilateral recognition arrangements, under ISO/IEC 17025 for laboratory testing, ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection and surveillance, and ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17065 for system and product certification. This chain ensures the reports and certificates issued are accepted worldwide.

Whether this test can be offered within accredited scope depends on your product and the standard applied; since accreditation is method-based, the scope is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.

Scope and authorisations

Related Regulations

Textile and upholstery product specifications
Coating performance standards

Mekanik Testler — What Does This Testing Field Cover?

The section below describes the field that the Abrasion test belongs to; the conditions and acceptance criteria of this particular test are given in the sections above. The scope specific to your product is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.

Mechanical testing measures how a material or a part behaves under force. The family ranges from static loading (tension, compression, bending) to time-dependent behaviour (fatigue, creep), and from hardness and wear to fracture toughness.

What these tests have in common is that the result is reported as a MATERIAL PROPERTY. Yield strength or hardness is not a conformity decision; it is numerical data against which the design and the product standard will compare. Mechanical test reports are therefore usually an input to an engineering decision rather than to a product approval — material selection, safety factor, life prediction.

The distinction between static and dynamic behaviour is the key to understanding the field. A part may appear entirely unstressed under a static load yet break under repeated loading; fatigue fracture occurs at stresses well below the yield strength and gives no warning. For rotating, vibrating or cyclically loaded parts, a tensile test alone is therefore not sufficient evidence.

Test conditions determine the result, and this is critical for the readability of the report: specimen geometry, loading rate, temperature, conditioning and the gripping arrangement. The same material gives different values under different conditions. In plastics the rate effect is very pronounced, in metals the temperature effect; in composites the specimen orientation changes the result entirely.

Hardness is the most misused measurement in the field. Because it is fast, close to non-destructive and inexpensive, it is often used in place of strength. Conversion tables from hardness to strength exist, but they are APPROXIMATE and depend on the material group; using them as the sole evidence in material acceptance is wrong.

The fracture mechanics side requires a specific competence. Fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth rate measurements make it possible to calculate how long a cracked structure will last; they are the basis of damage-tolerant design in fields such as pressure equipment, aircraft structures and pipelines.

Method groups in this field

Static tests
Tension, compression, bending, shear and torsion. Yield and tensile strength, elongation and modulus of elasticity are obtained.
Impact tests
Charpy and Izod notch impact; the brittle-to-ductile transition behaviour of the material is determined as a function of temperature.
Hardness
Brinell, Vickers, Rockwell, Shore and micro hardness. Valuable for surface treatment depth and local differences in strength.
Fatigue
Force- and strain-controlled axial fatigue, fatigue in bending; S-N curves and the endurance limit.
Creep and stress relaxation
Behaviour under long-term load at high temperature; decisive for boiler, turbine and pressure equipment materials.
Fracture mechanics
Plane-strain fracture toughness, the J integral, CTOD and fatigue crack growth rate.
Wear and friction
Taber and rotating drum abrasion, coefficient of friction measurements.

Commonly confused in this field

Calculating strength from hardness is approximate; it cannot be used as the sole evidence in material acceptance.
Adequate static strength does not demonstrate fatigue strength; a cyclically loaded part requires a separate test.
If test rate and temperature are not reported, the result cannot be compared — especially for polymers and composites.
A test specimen and the actual part may not give the same value; moulding orientation, weld lines and differences in surface treatment all have an effect.
A strength value given for a composite without stating the specimen orientation is meaningless.
ASTM and ISO counterparts measure the same quantity but use different specimen geometries; the results are not treated as directly equivalent.

Which decisions these results support

Design verification and material selection
Incoming material control and supplier approval
Meeting the mechanical requirements of the product standard
Failure analysis, life prediction and damage tolerance calculation
Verifying heat treatment and surface treatment processes

Related Tests

Frequently Asked Questions About Abrasion

What is the difference between Taber and Martindale?

Taber uses a rotating-wheel arrangement and is common on hard surfaces (coatings, plastics). Martindale operates with a Lissajous motion and is preferred for textile products. Results cannot be converted between the two.