This contribution will concentrate on wear as volume loss, which is a crucial part in quantifying the performance of a tribological system. Wear is an outcome of a tribological experiment and affected by the variables of the tribological system including the samples involved. It can be detected and assessed in various ways (e.g., via changes in volume, weight, geometry, morphology, and topography). 

There are several methods to measure the wear volume. Some of them are standardised, others aren’t. The comparability of these methods was analysed in two Inter-Partner Round-Robin Tests (IP-RRT) using reciprocating laboratory model tests. The evaluation of wear volumes was done on two levels for each IP-RRT. The first level focused on the comparison of wear volumes caused by different tribological experiments with the same parameters conducted by various operators at the partners with several tribometers. The second level focused on the methods used to determine the wear volume of circulated samples with wear scars produced by the tribological tests in those IP-RRTs. 

These considerations are especially important as within the European Tribology Centre “i-TRIBOMAT” (Grant Agreement no. 814494; call: H2020-NMBP-TO-IND-2018; https://www.i-tribomat.eu/) a shared infrastructure of more than 100 tribometers is formed. Additionally, this centre incorporates the capacities of tribological characterisation of different renowned institutions. To ensure that the wear results determined by this Open Innovative Test Bed are characteristic as well as descriptive, trustworthy, comparable, and reproducible, appropriate procedures are needed. Hence, they safeguard respective quality features, such as low standard deviations.

An essential part in the development of these procedures is the continuous improvement process that was set in place within the quality management system. It contains IP-RRTs that collect data, methods used, expenses and suggestions for improvements. They also validate the procedures developed. 

The presentation will show that harmonised procedures and Best Practices reduce influences caused, for example, by the operators, which is necessary to reach the quality demands of the European Tribology Centre.