Two-body abrasion of some polymers against 6–50 μm SiC abrasives

Single- and multiple-pass two-body abrasion tests were run on Nylon $\text{6}\text{6}\text{+ 20\%}$ polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and polycarbonate + 10% PTFE sliding dry against 6–50 μm SiC abrasives. A functional relationship was developed between the single-pass wear rate and the abrasive particle size for abrasive particle sizes less than or equal to 10.4 μm. The single-pass abrasive wear rate was 20–40 times greater than the multiple-pass wear rate for each material when it was slid against abrasive grains with a mean size not exceeding 10.4 μm. This was due to the formation of loose polymer fibril wear debris in single-pass sliding and of transferred plateaux of polymer in multiple-pass sliding. The rate of increase in wear with particle size was about 20 times greater for single-pass sliding than for multiple-pass sliding. Above a mean abrasive particle size of 10.4 μm the type of mechanism in both single-pass and multiple-pass sliding was that of ploughing.