TRIBOLOGICAL BEHAVIOURS OF ABS AND PA6 POLYMERMETAL SLIDING COMBINATIONS UNDER DRY FRICTION, WATER ABSORBED AND ELECTROPLATED CONDITIONS

Abstract

The friction and wear properties of polyamide 6 (PA6) and poly-Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) sliding against metal under dry sliding, water absorption and electroplated (EP) conditions were studied by using a pin-ondisc tribometer. The effect of applied load and sliding speed on the tribological behaviours of the polymer–metal sliding combinations under dry sliding, water absorbed and EP conditions were also investigated. The worn surfaces were examined by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Experimental results showed that ABS samples under water absorbed conditions showed higher wear loss compared to normal samples and the EP samples had exhibited lower wear loss compared to the water absorbed samples. Similarly EP-PA6 samples exhibited excellent wear resistance when compared with EP-ABS samples. Further, it was observed that the frictional heat produced on account of sliding action had a significant effect on the tribological behaviours of samples under dry sliding and water absorbed conditions.

Keywords

• Dry friction
• Wear
• Tribology
• Frictional heat
• Water absorption
• Electroplating
• PA6
• ABS