Self‐lubricating and self‐protecting properties of polymer composites for wear and friction applications

Abstract Based on the well‐known pin‐on‐disc test rig, a new test setup has been developed for online measuring of the wear and friction behavior of polymer matrix composites. Contrasting with a traditional friction and wear test rig, a steel pin and composite disc are presently used to study the influence of wear debris and fiber orientation. This test setup has a main influence on the results. The polymer materials, a thermoset polyester, and a thermoplastic polyphenylene sulfide were reinforced with glass and carbon fibers, respectively. The results show two different promising aspects of “new” materials for wear and friction applications and more specific to different machine components, namely self‐lubricating and self‐protecting ability. The self‐lubricating ability exists from creating a polymer film on the surface which reduces the coefficient of friction, and the self‐protecting behavior is because of the creation of a protecting carbon film on the surface. The self‐lubricating ability depends on the test parameters, while the self‐protecting ability was due to the material and the structure. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers