Wear, 115 (1987) 95 - 105 95

FRICTION AND WEAR TESTS OF POLYMERS*

KENNETH HOLMBERGa and GORAN WICKSTRGM

aTechnical Research Centre of Finland, Metals Laboratory, Metallimiehenkuja 6,
SF-021 50 Espoo (Finland)

bTechnical Research Centre of Finland, Chemical Laboratory, Biologinkuja,

SF-021.50 Espoo (Finland)

Summary

Coefficients of friction in the range 0.13 - 0.63 and specific wear rates
in the range 5 X lo- l6 - 2 .1 X lo-i4 m3 N-i m-l were measured with a pin-on-
disc friction tribometer and a multipin-on-cylinder wear tribometer for
22 commercially available polymer materials. Low friction and wear were
measured for the polytetrafluoroethylenes and the polyethylenes. The use of
fillers like graphite, MO& and glass did not always improve the tribological
properties of the polymers and for some polymers their influence was even
the opposite. A decrease in the ambient temperature to -35 C had, for
most polymers, the effect of decreasing the coefficients of friction and the
wear rates. A remarkable time dependence that extended for the first 68 h
of the running-in was registered for the ultrahigh molecular weight poly-
ethylenes plus MO&.

1. Introduction

New plastic materials are today available for engineering purposes

owing to the rapid development of polymers with better mechanical and
tribological properties. However, there is still a lack of knowledge of the fric-
tion and wear behaviour of the commercially available plastic materials,
especially data suitable for a machine designers use.
The mechanisms of friction [ 1,2], the mechanisms of wear [ 3, 41 and
the tribological behaviour of polymers [5, 61 have been reviewed. This
paper is based on earlier Finnish work which includes a study of the pin-on-
disc friction and wear test method for polymers [7], a review of polymers
for bearings and sliding surfaces [8] and a study of their suitability for
use in the food processing industry [ 91.

*Paper presented at the Nordic Symposium on Tribology, Lulei University of

Technology, Lule& Sweden, June 15 18, 1986.

0043.1648/87/$3.50 0 Elsevier Sequoia/Printed in The Netherlands

96

The present study deals with commercially available plastic materials.

The first purpose is to present comparable and typical friction and wear
data for some frequently used polymer groups. A similar approach has earlier
been presented by Anderson and the National Centre of Tribology (NCT)
[lo, 111. The second purpose is to study how low temperature (T =:-35 C)
influences the friction and.wear of polymers.

2. Experimental methods

A pin-ondisc machine and a multipin~o~-cylinder machine were

constructed and built for the friction measurements and for the urear tests
respectively. Both machines were designed to enable friction and wear tests
to be carried out in a cold room at tem~~atures as low as -60 CL
The polymer pin specimen had a diameter of 10 it 0.1 mm in both tests.
The counterpart in the pin-on-disc tests was a flat steel specimen with a sur-
face roughness of R, = 0.2 pm, The diameter of rotation of the pin against
the flat was 80 + 1 mm. The counterpart in the multipin-on-cylinder tests
was a steel shaft with a diameter of 80 + 0.1 mm and a surface roughness of
R, = 0.2 pm.
In the multipi~~~~cylinder machine used for the wear tests it is
possible to measure simul~neously the wear of 12 pins each spaced 40 mm
apart. The number of pins tested sim~~eously must be reduced tit higher
pressure-velocity pu values because of the heating of the shaft by friction.
The frictional force was measured using a load transducer. The
kinematic coefficient of friction was measured after a running-in time of
about 0.5 - 1 h when the frictional force seemed to have stabihzed at a
constant value. The static coefficient of friction was measured after the
running-in period.
All wear tests were performed with a running time of 1000h and the
wear was measured as the decrease in pin length Ah using a micrometer at
the centre of the contact area of the pin.
The friction and wear tests were first stormed at a laboratory room
temperature of 22 + I C and a relative humidity of 50%. In the wear tests
the rotational shaft was slightly cooled with a fan to keep the temperature
rise of the contact area less than 5 C.
For the cold tests the test equipment was moved into a cold room with
low humidity and a temperature of -35 + 1 C.. The force transducer was
recalibrated in the cold and all other ~s~ume~~tion was kept outside
at normal room temperature. The specimens were kept for several hours
in the cold room before the test was started.
All tests were performed under dry conditions without any external
lubricant.
 97

3. Friction and wear data

The friction and wear data in the following are given as the mean
value of measurements from tests with at least two similar samples.
The scatter of the values measured for the coefficients of friction
was normally less than 0.05. All the wear data are given with two numbers
and the scatter was typically less than S%.
All materials tested are commercially available plastics. The results
are given for 22 typical polymers representing the following groups.
(1) Polyamides (Nylon).
(2) Polytetrafluoroethylenes (PTFE).
(3) Polyethylenes.
(4) Polyesters.
(5) Polyacetals.
The ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylenes (UHMWPE) (Materials
14 and 16) had a molecular weight of more than 1000 000. The polyesters
were of thermoplastic type.
The polymer materials were not chemically analysed and the data given
are the information obtained from the suppliers.
The measured kinetic and static coefficients of friction for the five
material groups at an ambient temperature of +22 C are shown in Fig. 1.
The corresponding wear data are shown in Fig. 2. The coefficients of friction
and wear measured at a speed of 0.1 m s-l for each material separately are

1. POLY-
AMIDES

2. POLY.
TETRA-
FLUOAO-
ETHYLENES

3. POCY
ETHYLENES

4. POLY.
ESTERS

5. POLY-
ACETALS

9
COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION, p

Fig. 1. Coefficients of friction for five polymer material groups at three pu values.
98

I 1 I 1 , 1 I

1.POLY-
AMIDES I I

2. POLY- ------l
PURE PTFEt I 300
TETRA- --_--_-__.I
FLUORO-
ETHYLENES

3. POLY-
ETHYLENES

I I 1 I / 1 I

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
WEAR, Ah Imm/lOOO hk

Fig. 2. Wear for five polymer material groups at two pv values.

shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The wear of pure PTFE was not measured in all the
test conditions because of its very high value compared with the other
materials.
The kinetic coefficients of friction and the wear measured for the
five material groups at an ambient; temperature of -35 C are shown in
Figs. 5 and 6. The corresponding data measured at an ambient tempera-
ture of +22 C are given in the same figures.

4. Discussion

4.1. Friction and wear at normal room ~e~~er~~~re

The kinetic coefficient of friction was measured as being between
0.13 and 0.63 for all materials tested at an ambient temperature of +22 C:
(Fig. 1). The lowest values were measured for the polytetrafluor~ethylenes,
the polyethylenes and the polyesters. fn all the material groups there was a
considerable variation in the coefficients of friction depending on the type
of base polymer and the filler used.
There &as a slight variation in the coefficients of friction measured
at low speed v and high load p (u = 0.1 m s-l and p = 1 MPa) compared
with the values measured at high speed and low load (u = 1 m s-~ and p =
0.1 MPa) but no general trend could be noticed.
At a contact pressure of p = 0.1 MPa the static coefficient of friction
was, for 13 materials out of 22, lower than the kinetic coefficient of fric-
tion at a speed of u = 1 m s-l, for six materials it was higher and for three
materials they were equal. The most dominant trend for the materials
 99

2. PA 66

3. PA 6 cast

4. PA 6 + Mo62

5. PA 66 + MoS.2

6. PA 66 + ca~+~on

7. PA 66 + carbon

8. PA 66 cart + MoS2

9. PA cast + oil

11. PTFE + graphite

12. PTFE + glass

3. POLYETHYLENES 14. UHMWPE

15. PEX

4. POLYESTERS 17. PETP

16. PBTP

19. PBTP + glass

21. POM Co

22. POM Co + int. tub.

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.7

COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION, IJ

Fig. 3. Coefficients of friction for polymer materials at normal room temperature and low
ambient temperature (p = 1 MPa, u = 0.1 m s-l).

tested was that the static coefficient of friction was lower than the kinetic
but there were exceptions in all the material groups except the polyethylenes.
The static coefficient of friction for pure PTFE was measured to be p = 0.04
which is similar to values reported earlier for this material, e.g. in ref. 3.
100

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 36
t I 1 1 t f i
1. POLYAMlDES
l.PA 6

2. PA 66

3. PA 6 cast

4.?A6+MoS2

5. PA 66 + M&2

6. PA 66 f carbon
q T=.22%
7. PA 66 + carbon

11. PTFE + graphite

12. PTFE + glass

13. PTFE l bronze

3. POLYETHYLENES 14. UHMWPE

15. PEX

16. URGE + MoS

18. PBTP

5. POLYACETALS 20. POM H

21. POM Co

22. POM Co + int. lub.

10 15 20 26 30
WEAR, Bh fmm/1600 ht

Fig. 4. Wear for polymer materials at normal room temperature and lrrw ambie:
temperature (p = 5 MPa, u - 0.1 m s-l).

In the 1000 h wear tests ah for the polymer pin was between .O,O
and 6.3 mm for all other m&erkls but pure PTFE, as shown in Fig. :
For PTFE the decrease in length was 300 mm at a pu value of u = 0.1 m s-
andp=lIWa.
 101

1. POLY-
AMIDES

2. POLY-
TETRA.
FLUORO-
ETHYLENES

3. POLY-
ETHYLENES

4. POLY
ESTERS

5. POLY-
ACETALS

I 1 I 0 I I
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION, p

Fig. 5. Coefficients of friction for five material groups at normal room temperature and
low ambient temperature (p = 1 MPa, u = 0.1 m s-l).

I I I I I I I I

1. POLY-
AMIDES I

/MI

2. POLY-
TETRA-
FLUORO-
ETHYLENES
bz q T=+22 OC

3. POLY-
&j T=-35C
ETHYLENES

4. POLY-
ESTERS I
w
5. POLY-
ACETALS

iii?

1 1 I I I 1 I I
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
WEAR, Ah (mm/1000 hl

Fig. 6. Wear for five material groups at normal room temperature and low ambient
temperature (p = 5 MPa, u = 0.1 m s-l).

The wear in adhesive wear contacts is generally expressed as the specific

wear rate K,
102

where V is the volume worn away, F is the normal load and s is the sliding
distance.
The variation in the specific wear rates of the polymers tested was
measured to be between 5 X lo-l6 and 2.1 X lo-l4 m3 N-r m-l, as shown in
Fig. 7. The value for pure PTFE was 8.3 X lo-l2 m3 N- m-l.

1. POLY
AMIDES

-_- --
2. POLY- PURE PTFE -d 8.3 x
TETRA- - -_ _- _I 10-12
FLUORO-
ETHYLENES
j-J T =*22*c

q
3. POLY-
ETHYLENES T= -35%

4. POLY-
ESTERS

5. PDLY.
ACETALS

/ / I I
10.6 lo-5 lo-- w-23
SPECIFIC WEAR RATE. K, (mS/Nm)

Fig. 7. Specific wear rates for five material groups at normal room temperature and low
ambient temperature.

Low wear rates were measured at two pu values for both the filled
polytetr~~uoroethylenes and the polyethylenes (Figs. 2 and 7). The variation
in wear rate between the different materials within the three other material
groups was large. Low wear rates were also measured for carbon-fibre-
reinforced polyamides, cast polyamide with an internal oil lubricant,
polyacetals with internal lubrication and a polyester.
The wear rates for the pofyacetals were considerably lower at low
speed and high load than at high speed and low load. No similar trend-could
be observed for the other polymer groups.
The specific wear rate results for the tested material groups are in good
correlation with the measurements earlier reported by Anderson and the
NCT [lo, Ill.

4.2, Influence of low temperature

The coefficients of friction and the wear rates were measured for the
same materials by the same methods at T = -35 C. For-most materials
the low tempests caused a decrease in the coefficient of friction, as
shown in Fig. 5. For the polyamides the decrease was 22% - 42%. There was
more variation in the reduction of the coefficients of friction in the other
material groups (see Fig. 3). PTFE, UHMWPE-MO& and poly(butylene
 103

terephthalate) with glass (PBTP-glass) showed a slight increase in the coef-

ficient of friction at low temperatures as an exception to the general trend.
The sensitivity of the coefficient of friction to temperature changes was
measured as being very low for PTFE, PTFE-graphite, UHMWPE-MO&,
poly(ethylene terephthaIate)(PETP) and polyoxymethylene(POM)Co with
internal lubrication.
Low temperature reduced the wear rate. This reduction (see Fig. 4) can
be remarkable for some materials, e.g. polyamide 66 or PBTP-glass. How-
ever, there are exceptions, for example, PTFE-graphite and POM H, which
exhibited a considerable increase in wear rate.
An explanation for the decrease in both the coefficient of friction and
the wear rate at lower temperatures is the increase in hardness and decrease
in elasticity of the polymers at decreasing temperatures. Consequently, the
polymer surface is not entirely conformed with the countersurface. Thus the
real area of contact decreases and the total adhesive bond becomes weaker.

4.3. Influence of time on friction

The values for the coefficients of friction are all measured after a short
running-in time of 0.5 - 1 h. The coefficient of friction seems to settle at a
certain level during a short duration running-in test as shown for UHMWPE-
MO& in Fig. 8.
It is important to recognize that there might be a very slow change in
the coefficient of friction during a long duration running-in test. This is
illustrated in Fig. 9 where the curve for the coefficient of friction in Fig. 8

i 0.6 -
0
6 0.5 -
E
IA. 0.4 -
k
0.3 -
5

I I
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
TIME, t (mln)

Fig. 8. The coefficient of friction for UHMWPE-MO& during short duration running-in.

0
0 0 I I 1 I I 1 I I _
0 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64
TIME, t (hl

Fig. 9. The coefficient of friction for UHMWPE-MO& during long duration running-in.
104

is continued on a time scale extended to 68 h. The coefficient of friction

measured after 68 h is about double the value measured after 0.5 h running-
in. An explanation for the slow change in the coefficient of friction for
UHMWPE-MoS2 is that a transferred polymer film was slowly built up on
the countersurface of the polymer and this increased the adhesive bonds
between the two surfaces.

5. Conclusions

The polymer material groups of the polytetrafluoroethylenes and poly-

ethylenes had low coefficients of friction and low wear rates. The polyesters
had low coefficients of friction but showed a considerable variation in wear
rate. The polyamides and polyacetals had higher coefficients of friction and.
showed a great variation in wear rate.
The UHMWPE had a low coefficient of friction and a low wear rate
under all test conditions. Low values were also measured for crosslinked
polyethylene and PETP under many different test conditions.
The use of fillers like graphite, MO& or glass did not always improve
the tribolo~c~ properties of the poIymers and for some materials their
influence was even the opposite.
A decrease in the ambient temperature to -35 C had for most .mate-
rials the effect of reducing the coefficients of friction and the wear rates.
This effect was observed to be most prono~~d for the polyamides and the
polyesters. The polytetrafluoroethylenes and the polyesters turned out to
have tribological properties that were. quite insensitive to. changes in. the
ambient temperature.
A long duration running-in effect on the coefficient of friction on
UHMWPE-MO& was observed. It took about 68 h before the very slow
increase in the coefficient of friction stopped and the measured value settled
to a stable level. This level was about double the values measured after a
short duration running-in period of 30 min.

The financial support for the work by the Technical Research Centre in
Finland and the Finnish companies Hydor, Kone, MKT-Tehtaat, Neles,
Nokia, TunturipyiirH and W&t&i is gratefully acknowledged.

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 105

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