Exploring the influence of counterpart materials on tribological behaviors of epoxy composites
(2016)
The dependence of the friction and wear of epoxy (EP) composites materials on counterpart materials, such as standard bearing steel, medium carbon steel and chrome-plating (Cr), was investigated. The conventional composite filled with short carbon fiber (SCF) and graphite shows the highest tribological performance when rubbing against Cr, whereas, the hybrid nanocomposite (EP filled with SCF, graphite and silica nanoparticles) exhibits the lowest friction and wear when sliding against the standard bearing steel. The role of nanoparticles in the tribological performance is distinctly different when sliding against with various counterpart materials. It is demonstrated that counterpart materials exert an important influence on material transfer, tribo-oxidation and mechanical mixing of wear products, resulting in the different formation mechanisms of transfer film.
This paper presents investigations on the tribological behaviour of PTFE composites against steel at cryogenic temperatures. The results showed that the friction coefficient decreases with temperature down to 77 K, but did not follow a linear evolution further down to extreme low temperatures. It can be stated that the cryogenic environment has a significant influence on the tribological performance of the polymer composites. The effect of low temperatures was more clearly detected at low sliding speed, where friction heat is reduced. A change in wear mechanism from adhesive to abrasive was observed in this case. SEM and AFM analyses showed that the PTFE matrix composites investigated under these experimental conditions have transferred material onto the disc down to very low temperatures. Chemical analyses indicate the presence of iron fluorides.