Wear Transition of Self-Lubricating Composites Used in Dry Oscillating Applications

Abstract

Dry sliding materials are frequently wed in mechanical components featuring oscillatory motion. The wear of those materials is influenced by many mechanical and geometric parameters, but one geometric parameter that has proven to be of particular importance in oscillating pin-on-disk contacts is the mutual overlap coefficient (MOC). The MOC is the ratio of the area of contact of the pin to the area of the wear track on the counterface.

The goal of this study was to characterize the influence of the MOC on the wear of five plastics, both filled and unfilled, in an oscillating pin-on-disk geometry at two different contact temperatures. The results showed that two characteristic wear behaviors occurred at a given temperature as a function of the MOC. At a large MOC, a central zone appeared in the contact and the elimination of wear debris from that zone was determined by the ratio of the amplitude of motion to the length of the pin in the direction perpendicular to the motion.

A systematic series of tests showed the simultaneous action of the mutual overlap coefficient and contact temperature on wear. A small change in temperature brought about a large change in wear rate, particularly at high MOC values.

Presented as an American Society of Lubrication Engineers paper at the ASME/ASLE Tribology Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 20–22, 1986

Notes

Presented as an American Society of Lubrication Engineers paper at the ASME/ASLE Tribology Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 20–22, 1986