THE INFLUENCE OF A CONSTANT STATE OF DEFORMATION ON THE FRICTION COEFFICIENT IN SELECTED THERMOPLASTICS (POLYMER–STEEL PAIR)

Abstract

The effect of tensile deformation on polymer structures and their mechanical properties is described in various papers. However, the majority of articles are focused on high deformation (a few hundred percentiles) at increased temperature. It causes changes in orientation and the crystallinity ratio. The authors of this paper asses the influence of strain (max. 50%) on hardness and the coefficient of friction (polymer–steel A1 couple) for selected polymers. The deformation was conducted at room temperature and maintained during tests. There was a significant reduction (up to 50%) of hardness after deformation, in the case of all examined polymers. In the case of PE-HD, the coefficient of kinetic friction almost doubled its value (89% increase). The reduction of the coefficient of static friction for sliding pairs that include PTFE and PA6 was about 26% (in comparison with non-deformed polymer). For all investigated polymers, hardness increased over time (up to 40% after 24 hours). Coefficients of static and kinetic friction decreased in 24 hours (up to 29% coefficient of static friction and 19% coefficient of kinetic friction). The research shows that a small deformation causes changes in polymer properties. Moreover, these changes appear at room temperature directly after deformation.