High performance PEEK/AlN micro‐ and nanocomposites for tribological applications

The tribological properties of poly(ether–ether–ketone) (PEEK)/aluminum nitride (AlN) composites reinforced with micro‐ and nano‐AlN particles were evaluated under dry sliding conditions. The wear resistance of pure PEEK is 10‐fold higher than mild steel. It was further improved by 2‐fold at 20 wt % micro‐AlN and by more than 4‐fold at 30 wt % nano‐AlN composite compared with pure PEEK. The improvement in wear resistance was attributed to a thin and coherent transfer film. However, it was deteriorated on further increasing micro‐AlN. The coefficient of friction of the composites was increased. Scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy of worn surfaces and transfer films have been explained in detail. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Nanomechanical and tribological behavior of hydroxyapatite reinforced ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene nanocomposites for biomedical applications

A hydroxyapatite (HA) particulate reinforced ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) nanocomposite is fabricated by internal mixer at 180°C and using of paraffin oil as a processing aid to overcome the high viscosity of melted UHMWPE. The reinforcing effects of nano‐HA are investigated on nanomechanical properties of HA/UHMWPE nanocomposites by nanoindentation and nanoscratching methods. Results show that the nanocomposite with 50 wt % nano‐HA exhibits a Young's modulus and hardness of 362.5% and 200% higher, and a friction coefficient of 38.86% lower than that of pure UHMWPE, respectively. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42052.     

Tribological properties of polyimide coatings filled with PTFE and surface‐modified nano‐Si3N4

Polyimide (PI) coatings filled with PTFE and nano‐Si₃N₄ were prepared by a spraying technique and successive curing. Nano‐Si₃N₄ particles were modified by grafting 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane to improve their dispersion in the as‐prepared coatings. Friction and wear performances and wear mechanisms of the coatings were evaluated. The results show that the incorporations of PTFE and modified nano‐Si₃N₄ particles greatly improve the friction reduction and wear resistance of PI coating. The friction and wear performance of the composite coating is significantly affected by the filler mass fraction and sliding conditions. PI coating incorporated with 20 wt % PTFE and 5 wt % modified nano‐Si₃N₄ displays the best tribological properties. Its wear rate is more than one order of magnitude lower and its friction coefficient is over two times smaller than that of the unfilled PI coating. Differences in the friction and wear behaviors of the hybrid coatings as a function of filler or sliding condition are attributed to the filler dispersion, the characteristic of transfer film formed on the counterpart ball and the wear mechanism of the coating under different sliding conditions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40410.     

Tribological and mechanical properties of carbon‐nanofiber‐filled polytetrafluoroethylene composites

The effects of various filler concentrations (0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 wt %) on the tribological and mechanical properties of carbon‐nanofiber (CNF)‐filled polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites were studied. Moreover, the influence of various loads (50, 100, 150, and 200 N) and sliding velocities (0.692 and 1.39 m/s) on the friction and wear behaviors of the PTFE composites was investigated. The results showed that the friction coefficients of the PTFE composites decreased initially up to a 0.5 wt % filler concentration and then increased, whereas the antiwear properties of the PTFE composites increased by 1–2 orders of magnitude in comparison with those of pure PTFE. The composite with a 2 wt % filler concentration had the best antiwear properties under all friction conditions. The friction coefficients of the CNF/PTFE composites decreased with increases in the load and sliding velocity, whereas the wear volume loss of the PTFE composites increased. At the same time, the results also indicated that the mechanical properties of the PTFE composites increased first up to a 1 wt % filler concentration and then decreased as the filler concentration was increased above 1 wt %. In comparison with pure PTFE, the impact strength, tensile strength, and elongation to break of the PTFE composites increased by 40, 20, and 70%, respectively, at a 1 wt % filler concentration. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 2430–2437, 2007     

Friction and wear properties of graphene oxide/ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene composites under the lubrication of deionized water and normal saline solution

Ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and UHMWPE composites reinforced with graphene oxide (GO) were successfully fabricated through a new step of liquid‐phase ultrasonic dispersion, high‐speed ball‐mill mixing, and hot‐pressing molding technology. When the GO/UHMWPE composites were lubricated with deionized water (DW) and normal saline (NS) solution, their friction and wear properties were investigated through sliding against ZrO₂. The worn surface and wear volume losses of these composites were studied with scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and a Micro‐XAM 3D non‐contact surface profiler. The results show that the microhardness of the GO/UHMWPE composites was improved by 13.80% and the wear rates were decreased by 19.86 and 21.13%, whereas the depths of the scratches were decreased by 22.93 and 23.77% in DW and NS lubricating conditions, respectively. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39640.     

Tribological properties of porous PPS/PTFE composite filled with mesopore titanium oxide whisker

Nano‐micro hierarchical porous polyphenylene sulfide/polytetrafluoroethylene (PPS/PTFE) composites were prepared by mold‐leaching and vacuum melting process under high temperature condition. The tribological behaviors of porous PPS/PTFE composites and the synergism as a result of incorporation of both micro‐porogen (NaCl) and mesoporous TiO₂ whiskers were investigated. The effects of mesoporous TiO₂ whiskers and nonperforated TiO₂ whiskers on the friction and wear properties of PPS/PTFE composites were comparatively studied, respectively. Results indicated that the wear rate of porous PPS/PTFE composites with 30 wt % NaCl and 7 wt % mesoporous TiO₂ whiskers obtained the lowest values under the load of 100 N. Compared with pure PPS, the wear resistance of nano‐micro porous PPS/PTFE composite was enhanced by 6.45 × 10³ times, showing outstanding wear resistance. During sliding condition, grease could be squeezed through the nano‐micro pores under the coupling effect of load and friction heat, and formed a lubricanting layer on friction surface, providing self‐lubricating effect and high wear resistance. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

The effects of hybrid fillers on thermal,mechanical, physical,and antimicrobial properties of ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene‐reinforced composites

The effects of hybrid filler of zinc oxide and chitosan (chitosan–ZnO) on thermal, flexural, antimicrobial, chemical resistance, and hardness properties of ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) composites with varying concentration of zinc oxide (ZnO) and further hybridized by chitosan (CS) were successfully studied. The composites were prepared using mechanical ball milling and followed by hot compression molding. The addition of ZnO to the UHMWPE matrix had lowered the melting temperature (T _m) of the composite but delayed its degradation temperature. Further investigation of dual filler incorporation was done by the addition of chitosan to the UHMWPE/ZnO composite and resulted in the reduction of UHMWPE crystallization. The flexural strength and modulus had a notably high improvement through ZnO addition up to 25 wt% as compared to neat UHMWPE. However, the addition of chitosan had resulted in lower flexural strength than that of 12 wt% ZnO UHMWPE composite but still higher than that of neat UHMWPE. It was experimentally proven that the incorporation of ZnO and chitosan particles within UHMWPE matrix had further enhanced the antimicrobial properties of neat UHMWPE. Chemical resistance was improved with higher ZnO content with a slight reduction of mass change after the incorporation of chitosan. The hardness value increased with ZnO addition but higher incorporation of chitosan had lowered the hardness value. These findings have significant implications for the commercial application of UHMWPE based products. It appears that these hybrid fillers (chitosan–ZnO)‐reinforced UHMWPE composites exhibit superior overall properties than that of conventional neat UHMWPE. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:1689–1697, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Improvement of the tribological behavior of ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene by incorporation of poly (phenyl p‐hydroxyzoate)

Ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene/poly (phenyl p‐hydroxyzoate) composites (coded as UHMWPE/PPHZ) were prepared by compression molding. The effects of the poly (phenyl p‐hydroxyzoate) on the tribological properties of the UHMWPE/PPHZ composites were investigated, based on the evaluations of the tribological properties of the composites with various compositions and the examinations of the worn steel surfaces and composites structures by means of scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the incorporation of the PPHZ led to a significant decrease in the wear rate of the composites. The composites with the volume fraction of the PPHZ particulates within 45% ～ 75% showed the best wear resistance. The friction coefficient of the UHMWPE/PPHZ composites decreased with increasing load and sliding velocity, while the wear rates increased with increasing load. This was attributed to the enhanced softening and plastic deformation of the composites at elevated load or sliding velocity. The UHMWPE/PPHZ composites of different compositions had differences in the microstructures and the transfer film characteristics on the counterpart steel surface as well. This accounted for their different friction and wear behaviors. The transfer film of the UHMWPE/PPHZ composites appeared to be thinner and more coherent, which was largely responsible for their better wear resistance of t composite than the UHMWPE matrix. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 2336–2343, 2005     

Abrasive wear performance and antibacterial assessment of untreated and treated ZnO‐reinforced polymer composite

In this work, the response of different filler loading of zinc oxide (ZnO) reinforced ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) on mechanical, abrasive wear, and antibacterial properties were studied. Two variants of untreated ZnO‐reinforced UHMWPE (U‐ZPE) and treated ZnO‐reinforced UHMWPE (T‐ZPE) with aminoproplytriethoxysilane (APTES) were used to compare the improvement of the mechanical, abrasive wear, and antibacterial properties. The abrasive wear and friction behaviors were monitored using a pin‐on‐disc (POD) test rig with different applied loads and sliding speeds against 400‐grit size of silicon carbide (SiC) abrasive paper under dry sliding conditions. The antibacterial assessments of the composites were tested against two common human body bacteria, that is, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Results have shown that T‐ZPE possess higher ultimate tensile strength and elongation at break values as compared to U‐ZPE. Furthermore, the T‐ZPE have higher wear resistance compared to U‐ZPE and pure UHMWPE. The average coefficient of friction (COF) of UHMWPE was not significantly affected by the addition of both untreated and treated ZnO filler. The wear mechanisms were studied under scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both U‐ZPE and T‐ZPE composites showed active inhibition against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria. POLYM. COMPOS., 34:1020–1032, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

More wear‐resistant and ductile UHMWPE composite prepared by the addition of radiation crosslinked UHMWPE powder

Radiation crosslinked ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (X‐UHMWPE) powder was prepared by γ‐ray irradiation under nitrogen atmosphere with a dose of 50–200 kGy at a dose rate of 7 kGy/h and further annealing in vacuum at 120 °C for 4 h. The crosslinked powder was characterized by FT‐IR spectroscopy, gel content, and hot‐press molding. Then, X‐UHMWPE was added to pristine UHMWPE to prepare a composite with 0–25 wt % filler. The morphology, wear resistance, and tensile property of the composite were investigated. Using X‐UHMWPE as a filler could sufficiently improve the wear resistance of the composite. Adding 25 wt % X‐UHMWPE (dose: 150 kGy) improved wear resistance by 130% and retained approximately 90% tensile strength and 70% ductility. Wear‐resistant and ductile UHMWPE composite may be potentially used for artificial joint replacement and engineering devices. The proposed route is useful in fabricating UHMWPE material with excellent comprehensive performance or functional polymer composite. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44643.     

Tribological behavior of short‐fiber‐reinforced polyimide composites under dry‐sliding and water‐lubricated conditions

Polyimide composites reinforced with short‐cut fibers such as carbon, glass, and quartz fibers were fabricated by the polymerization of monomer reactants process. The mechanical properties of the composites with different fiber contents were evaluated. The friction and wear properties of the polyimide and its composites were investigated under dry‐sliding and water‐lubricated conditions. The results indicated that the short‐carbon‐fiber‐reinforced polyimide composites had better tensile and flexural strengths and improved tribological properties in comparison with glass‐fiber‐ and quartz‐fiber‐reinforced polyimide composites. The incorporation of short carbon fibers into the polyimide contributed to decreases in the friction coefficient and wear rate under both dry and water‐lubricated conditions and especially under water lubrication because of the boundary lubrication effect of water. The polyimide and its composites were characterized by plastic deformation, microcracking, and spalling under both dry and water‐lubricated conditions, which were significantly abated under the water‐lubricated condition. The glass and quartz fibers were easily abraded and broken; the broken fibers transferred to the mating metal surface and increased the surface roughness of mating stainless steel, which led to the wear rate increasing for the glass‐fiber‐ and quartz‐fiber‐reinforced polyimide composites. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Mechanical and tribological properties of glass–epoxy composites with and without graphite particulate filler

The objectives of this research article is to evaluate the mechanical and tribological properties of glass‐fiber‐reinforced epoxy (G–E) composites with and without graphite particulate filler. The laminates were fabricated by a dry hand layup technique. The mechanical properties, including tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break, and surface hardness, were investigated in accordance with ASTM standards. From the experimental investigation, we found that the tensile strength and dimensional stability of the G–E composite increased with increasing graphite content. The effect of filler content (0–7.5 wt %) and sliding distance on the friction and wear behavior of the graphite‐filled G–E composite systems were studied. Also, conventional weighing, determination of the coefficient of friction, and examination of the worn surface morphological features by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were done. A marginal increase in the coefficient of friction with sliding distance for the unfilled composites was noticed, but a slight reduction was noticed for the graphite‐filled composites. The 7.5% graphite‐filled G–E composite showed a lower friction coefficient for the sliding distances used. The wear loss of the composites decreased with increasing weight fraction of graphite filler and increased with increasing sliding distance. Failure mechanisms of the worn surfaces of the filled composites were established with SEM. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2472–2480, 2007     

Injection‐molded high‐density polyethylene–hydroxyapatite–aluminum oxide hybrid composites for hard‐tissue replacement: Mechanical,biological, and protein adsorption behavior

In this article, we report the mechanical and biocompatibility properties of injection‐molded high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) composites reinforced with 40 wt % ceramic filler [hydroxyapatite (HA) and/or Al₂O₃] and 2 wt % titanate as a coupling agent. The mechanical property measurements revealed that a combination of a maximum tensile strength of 18.7 MPa and a maximum tensile modulus of about 855 MPa could be achieved with the injection‐molded HDPE–20 wt % HA–20 wt % Al₂O₃ composites. For the same composite composition, the maximum compression strength was determined to be 71.6 MPa and the compression modulus was about 660 MPa. The fractrography study revealed the uniform distribution of ceramic fillers in the semicrystalline HDPE matrix. The cytocompatibility study with osteoblast‐like SaOS2 cells confirmed extensive cell adhesion and proliferation on the injection‐molded HDPE–20 wt % HA–20 wt % Al₂O₃ composites. The cell viability analysis with the 3(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay revealed a statistically significant difference between the injection‐molded HDPE–20 wt % HA–20 wt % Al₂O₃ composites and sintered HA for various culture durations of upto 7 days. The difference in cytocompatibility properties among the biocomposites is explained in terms of the difference in the protein absorption behavior. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Effects of a coupling agent on the mechanical and thermal properties of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene/nano silicon carbide composites

Ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)/nano silicon carbide (nano‐SiC) composites were prepared by compression molding. The effects of a coupling agent and the content of the filler on the filler dispersion and the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites were investigated. The results show that the mechanical properties of the composites first increased and then decreased with increasing SiC content. The macromolecular coupling agent exhibited a much better reinforcing effect than the small‐molecule coupling agent. The tensile strength of the composites with 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550), γ‐methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH570), and silicone powders reached its maximum value when the silicon carbide (SiC) content was 3%. We found that a web of the UHMWPE/SiC/coupling agent was formed and played a significant role in improving the heat resistance of the composites. In addition, appropriate amounts of SiC could increase the crystallinity of UHMWPE via a process of heterogeneous nucleation. The comprehensive performance of the KH550/silicone/SiC/UHMWPE composites was the best. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Natural rubber protein as interfacial enhancement for bio‐based nano‐fillers

Natural rubber was enhanced with soy protein nano‐aggregates and carbon black using a hybrid process. The rubber composites reinforced with an optimum amount of soy protein or soy protein/carbon black showed useful tensile properties. The stress‐strain behaviors were analyzed with a micro‐mechanical model that describes the stress–strain measurements well. The model analysis provides insight into filler network characteristics and entanglement modulus. The composites were also analyzed with both linear and nonlinear viscoelastic properties. Temperature and frequency dependent modulus as well as the model analysis of stress softening effect describe the ability of soy protein to constraint polymer chains in the highly filled composites. For the composites reinforced with soy protein, the good tensile properties are attributed to good filler‐polymer adhesion through the compatibilization effect of natural rubber protein. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2188–2197, 2013     

纳米TiO2-超高分子量聚乙烯复合材料的摩擦学特性

利用MM-200型摩擦磨损实验机,考察了纳米TiO2增强超高分子量聚乙烯（UHMWPE）复合材料在生理盐水润滑下,与Co—Cr—Mo合金对摩时的摩擦磨损性能,用光学显微镜观察了材料摩擦表面磨痕形貌。结果表明,适当填充纳米TiO2可提高UHMWPE的硬度,显著降低摩擦系数,增强耐磨性。UHMWPE的磨损主要表现为粘着、犁沟及塑性变形,TiO2-UHMWPE复合材料的磨损表现为轻微疲劳磨损。     

Size effect of charcoal particles on the properties of bamboo charcoal/ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene composites

This study was aimed at examining the size effect of charcoal particles on the properties of bamboo charcoal (BC)/ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) composites. Four types of BC with various particle sizes were mixed with UHMWPE using a twin‐screw extruder. It was found that the melting temperature and crystallinity of the composites were slightly decreased with the addition of BC. The incorporation of BC remarkably improved the tensile properties and creep resistance of UHMWPE, and the particle size of BC strongly affected the properties of BC/UHMWPE composites. The BC with lowest particle size exhibited best reinforcement, where the tensile strength and Young's modulus were increased by 385% and 517% compared with neat UHMWPE. The composites with 70 wt % BC possessed conductivities of 16.8, 14.1, 13.5, and 10.9 S/m. The storage modulus and glass transition temperature of the composites also increased with the addition of BC. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45530.     

不同材料填充超高摩尔质量聚乙烯复合材料的力学性能分析

对纳米Al2O3、玻纤粉、石墨、微珠粉等材料填充的UHMWPE复合材料进行了拉伸、强度和磨损性能试验。结果表明：不同填料对UHMWPE性能的影响不一样，几种填料填充UHMWPE后，其硬度及耐磨性有不同的改善，而拉伸强度和断裂伸长率有不同程度的下降；其中以质量分数为10％的纳米Al2O3填充UHMWPE综合性能最佳；石墨填充材料的加入会使UHMWPE拉伸强度和断裂伸长率下降较大，脆性增大，但可较好地改善UHMWPE的耐磨性。     

Mechanical and three‐body abrasive wear behaviour of SiC filled glass‐epoxy composites

Fiber/filler reinforced polymer composites are known to possess high strength and attractive wear resistance in dry sliding conditions. How these composites perform in abrasive wear situations needs a proper understanding. Hence, in this research article the mechanical and three‐body abrasive wear behaviour of E‐glass fabric reinforced epoxy (G‐E) and silicon carbide filled E‐glass fabric reinforced epoxy (SiC‐G‐E) composites are investigated. The mechanical properties were evaluated using Universal testing machine. Three‐body abrasive wear tests are conducted using rubber wheel abrasion tester wherein two different loads and four varying abrading distances are employed. The results showed that the wear volume loss is increased with increase in abrading distance and the specific wear rate decreased with increase in abrading distance/load. However, the presence of SiC particulate fillers in the G‐E composites showed a promising trend. The worn surface features, when examined through scanning electron microscopy, show higher levels of broken glass fiber in G‐E system compared to SiC‐ filled G‐E composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Preparation and properties of novel,flexible, lead‐free X‐ray‐shielding materials containing tungsten and bismuth(III) oxide

Novel, flexible, lead‐free X‐ray‐shielding composites were prepared with a high‐functional methyl vinyl silicone rubber (VMQ) matrix with W and Bi₂O₃ as filler materials. To verify the advanced properties of the lead‐free material, composites with the same mass fraction of PbO were compared. With the X‐ray energy ranging from 48 to 185 keV, the W/Bi₂O₃/VMQ composites exhibited higher X‐ray‐shielding properties. As the filler volume fraction decreased, the tensile strength, elongation, tear strength, and flexibility of the W/Bi₂O₃/VMQ composites increased. The Shore hardness of the W/Bi₂O₃/VMQ composites had a maximum value of 46.6 HA and was still very flexible. With decreasing filler volume fraction, the water‐vapor transmission performances of the W/Bi₂O₃/VMQ composites increased, and the W/Bi₂O₃/VMQ composites also showed better water‐vapor permeability. The heat‐transfer properties of the W/Bi₂O₃/VMQ composites increased with increasing W content, and when the W content exceeded 70 wt %, the thermal conductivity of the W/Bi₂O₃/VMQ material was about 70.45% higher than that of the PbO/VMQ composite. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43012.