Tribological Performance of PTFE Bronze Filled Composites under Wide Range of Application Conditions

Abstract

In this study, the friction and wear behavior of pure poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene (PTFE) and bronze filled PTFE polymer composites at applied load values of 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, 150, and 200N and sliding speed values of 0.32, 0.64, 0.96, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 m/s working conditions were examined. Friction and wear experiments were run at ambient conditions using a pin-on-disc test rig. The results for pure PTFE and bronze filled PTFE composites showed that under light working condition, the friction coefficient decreases with the increase in applied load values, while under severe conditions the materials showed less sensitivity to the change in applied load values. Furthermore, among tested materials the lowest wear rate is for bronze filled PTFE composite. The specific wear rate for pure PTFE and 60% bronze filled PTFE are in the order of 10(-13) and 10(-15) m(2)/N, respectively. For the range of applied load and sliding speeds used in this investigation, the friction coefficient and wear rate showed very little sensitivity to the change in sliding test speed and large sensitivity to the change in applied load values. Finally, the wear mechanism of PTFE and PTFE composites include adhesive and deformation mechanisms.