Friction and wear behavior of basalt‐fabric‐reinforced/solid‐lubricant‐filled phenolic composites

To improve the tribological properties of basalt‐fabric‐reinforced phenolic composites, solid lubricants of MoS₂ and graphite were incorporated, and the tribological properties of the resulting basalt‐fabric composites were investigated on a model ring‐on‐block test rig under dry sliding conditions. The effects of the filler content, load, and sliding time on the tribological behavior of the basalt‐fabric composites were systematically examined. The morphologies of the worn surfaces and transfer films formed on the counterpart steel rings were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy. The experimental results reveal that the incorporation of MoS₂ significantly decreased the friction coefficient, whereas the inclusion of graphite improved the wear resistance remarkably. The results also indicate that the filled basalt‐fabric composites seemed to be more suitable for friction materials serving under higher loads. The transfer films formed on the counterpart surfaces during the friction process made contributions to the reduction of the friction coefficient and wear rate of the basalt‐fabric composites. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010