EFFECTS OF OSCILLATORY SPEED AND MUTUAL OVERLAP ON THE TRIBOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR OF PTFE AND SELECTED PTFE-BASED SELF-LUBRICATING COMPOSITES

The wear reducing actions of bronze, graphitic powder and discontinuous glass fiber fillers within a PTFE matrix have been demonstrated in oscillatory contact with stainless steel, at two different amplitudes, over a range of speeds. The secondary effects on the friction of the PTFE have also been investigated. The effects of oscillation amplitude on frictional surface morphology have been observed for these composites. The friction and wear of the unfilled PTFE matrix were both found to increase as speed increased, with wear going through a transition from a low- to high-rate regime. The speed at which this transition occurs increases with decreasing oscillatory amplitude.