Abrasive wear behaviour of polymeric materials

In this study the abrasive wear behaviour of aliphatic polyketone (APK), polyoxymethylene (POM), ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), polyamide 66 (PA66), and 30% glass fibre reinforced polyphenylenesulfide (PPS + 30%GFR) engineering polymers at room temperature were studied. Pin-on disc arrangement wear tests were carried out at 1 m/s test speed and load value of 10 N. Tests were carried out for 50, 100, 150 and 200 m sliding distances. Emery paper grid varying from 150 to 1200 grade were used as an abrasive disc surface. After each test the mass loss of the pin was recorded. Finally the specific wear rates were deduced from wear volume of the pin for test duration distances of 50, 100, 150 and 200 m. The results showed that the highest wear rate is for POM with a value of 8.5 × 10⁻⁴ mm³/N m and the lowest wear rate is for UHMWPE with a value of 3.36 × 10⁻⁵ mm³/N m. Furthermore, for all materials the wear rate increases linearly with increasing wear duration distance.