Abstract
Self-lubricating polymer compounds are currently used for a wide range of applications such as bearings, gears, and water meters. Under severe conditions such as high pressure, high velocity, and/or high temperatures, the material fails (PV limit). In this study, we investigated the effect of graphite on the tribological properties of polystyrene (PS) with “ball-on-three-plates” tests. Graphite-filled PS plates were produced via an internal mixer and compression molding. Unhardened steel (1.4401) and nylon (PA66) balls were used for the tribological tests. Our results indicate that graphite loading, graphite type, and particle size have a big influence on the friction coefficient, the wear resistance, and the PV limit of PS both against steel and PA66. In particular, primary synthetic graphite performs better than secondary synthetic graphite due to the higher degree of crystallinity.
Highlights
Polymers have been increasingly used as an alternative to metals for different applications [1,2].The main advantages of plastic parts vs. metal parts are a reduced weight, design flexibility, and higher durability
Our results indicate that graphite loading, graphite type, and particle size have a big influence on the friction coefficient, the wear resistance, and the PV limit of PS both against steel and PA66
PS, the dynamic friction coefficient already increases to ca. 0.5 at very low forces, and a similar behavior is observed for PS filled with 10% of KS44
Summary
Polymers have been increasingly used as an alternative to metals for different applications [1,2]. In order to fulfill the requirements of each application, polymers need to be compounded with suitable fillers For tribological applications such as water meter valves, bearings, gears, bushes, and rollers, there are several properties that need to be considered such as mechanical properties, viscoelastic properties, temperature stability, heat dissipation, the friction coefficient, and the wear resistance [1]. There are few studies on the effect of different graphite types on the tribological properties of polymer compounds [2,3,4,5,6,7]. We did an extensive investigation of the effect of graphite type on the tribological properties of polystyrene (PS), which is known to have higher brittleness compared to other polymers [1]. Primary synthetic graphite performs better than secondary synthetic graphite due to the higher degree of crystallinity
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