The first major scientific study of diamond polishing was by Tolkowsky. His model dominated until recent years, when high–resolution microscopes allowed detailed studies of polished diamond surfaces. In this paper, new research shows that diamond polishing involves two– and three–body wear processes. The third body consists of the sp2 detritus formed while wearing diamond, and also minute diamond particles following comminution in the scaife preparation process. Microscopy also shows that diamond particles embedded in the scaife orient themselves to positions favourable for polishing. These particles are responsible for the formation of nano–grooves observed on diamond surfaces. In addition, measurements are presented that show that the wear mechanism for diamond is velocity dependent, and related to changes in material properties caused indirectly by the heat induced through frictional sliding.
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Hird et al. (2004) studied this question.
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