Tribological properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene in self–mated contacts and against steel disc

Abstract

In the present work tribological properties of polymer/polymer and polymer/steel contacts were studied under dry conditions using a pin-on-disc machine. Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) pin specimen was tested for friction and wear against AISI D2 steel disc and against ABS disc. The effects of different applied load, sliding velocity at constant sliding distance were studied. In the tribological contact of ABS pin/SS disc, the coefficient of friction, specific wear rate and wear mechanisms exhibited negligible effect on changes in the sliding speed and the applied load. The self-mated ABS/ABS contact exhibited the worst tribological properties. There is a close relationship of coefficient of friction and specific wear rate results with heat generation and wear mechanisms. The wear mechanism of worn surface of steel disc shows transfer layer over the wear track due to adhesion wear while plastic deformations on the ABS disc at high speeds, mainly due to the low thermal conductivity of the ABS.