The factors of speeds and loads on the tribological properties of PVA‐H/HA composites

Abstract

AbstractPoly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/Hydroxy apatite (HA) composite prepared from aqueous solution of the polymer and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) by freezing and thawing method are developing to repair or replace articular cartilage. In the present study, the tribological behaviors of this composite were investigated in a three‐factor, three‐level designed experiment using an improved four‐ball tester. Factors include sliding velocity, applied load, and HA content of composite. Friction coefficient of the PVA‐H/HA was found to depend significantly on load and sliding velocity, while HA content had small effects on the friction coefficient of PVA‐HA composite. We also found that wear loss of PVA‐H/HA increased sharply with the increasing loads and HA content of specimen. Increased HA content from 0.5% to 1.5% resulted in an increasing of 355% in wear loss, while increasing sliding velocity slightly decreases wear loss of specimen. We also found some correlation between friction coefficient and wear loss of specimen under the given condition. These results may be useful in the tribological design of PVA‐H/HA composite for both low wear and low friction using as artificial cartilage substitutes. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007