Mechanical and tribological response of thin polymer coating filled with graphite powder and deposited on polymer substrate

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this work, Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE)/graphite micro-composite coatings were deposited on an LLDPE substrate using the thermo-compression technique. The studied values of the mass fraction of graphite particles were 0, 2, 5, 10 and 20 wt.%. LLDPE/graphite micro-composite films, with no additional substrate, were also developed with the same graphite mass fractions used with the coatings and applying the same preparation technique. Tribological characterisations under continuous sliding were carried out on the micro-composite coatings using a ball-on-disc rotating tribometer. Tensile tests were performed on the micro-composite films in order to determine the optimum reinforcement composition. The results show that the addition of graphite with low mass fractions improves both friction and wear performances. The coating containing 10 wt.% graphite showed the best tribological performances. A significant and continuous decrease in the tensile strength and elongation at fracture of the micro-composites is achieved as the graphite mass fraction increases.