Tribological properties of short glass fiber reinforced polyamide 12 sliding on medium carbon steel

The friction and wear of short glass fiber reinforced polyamide 12 (PM 2) were investigated. The behavior of the fibers on a sliding surface and their effect on the friction and wear were studied in terms of the amount and orientation of the fibers in the composite. Results showed that the friction level and wear resistance were strongly affected by the fiber content, and glass fiber patches produced on the sliding surface played important roles in the wear resistance of the composite. The optimum fiber content for the best wear resistance of the PA12 composite was approximately 30 wt.% and higher fiber contents had no added effect on the wear amount. The applied load also strongly affected the wear resistance due to the increase in temperature at the sliding interface, and an increase in rapid wear was observed when the interface temperature increased above the glass transition temperature of PA12. On the other hand, the fiber orientation had less effect on the friction and wear of the composite compared to the fiber content and applied load. Based on the behavior of glass fibers on the sliding surface and wear debris analysis, the wear mechanism of the PA12 composite is discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.