Friction and wear behaviors of several polymers under oil-lubricated conditions

The friction and wear properties of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyimide (PI), and polyamide 66 (PA66) sliding against GCr15 bearing steel under both dry and oil-lubricated conditions were studied by using an MHK-500 ring-block wear tester (Timken wear tester), and then Stribeck's curves of PTFE, PI, and PA66 under lubrication of the oil were given out. The worn surfaces of these polymers and the transfer films formed on the counterfaces were examined by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an optical microscope, respectively. Experimental results show that the friction and wear-reducing properties of PTFE, PI, and PA66 can be greatly improved by lubrication with liquid paraffin, and the friction coefficients can be decreased by 1 order of magnitude compared to those in dry friction condition. Under lubrication of liquid paraffin, the friction coefficients of PTFE, PI, and PA66 decrease with the increase of load, but the wear increases with the increase of load. The variations of friction coefficients with load for PTFE, PI, and PA66 under lubrication of liquid paraffin can be described properly by the Stribeck's curves, as given out in this article. Under higher loads and sliding speeds in liquid paraffin lubrication, the friction and wear reducing properties of PA66 are the best, and those of PTFE are the worst; therefore, PA66 is also very suitable for applications in oil-lubricated conditions. Meanwhile, SEM and optical microscope investigations show that the wear and transfer of PTFE, PI, and PA66 can be greatly reduced by lubrication of liquid paraffin, but they still take place.