Polymer wear - Thermal aspects and applications

The first part presented the experimental approach to wear and its relationship with the mechanical properties of polymers. In this second part, we first explain the consequences for wear of the high sensitivity of polymer properties to temperature. The last two paragraphs focus on two important points for practical applications: improving the wear properties of polymers by adding fillers, and the use of these composite materials, and taking wear into account in contact design.

The comparison summarizes the order of magnitude of the tribological properties of polymers, both filled and unfilled, when rubbing dry against a steel part: coefficient of friction, wear rate and maximum value of the product pΔu, as well as their main physicochemical properties.