Dry sliding friction and wear behavior of self-lubricating wollastonite filled polycarbonate composites

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the friction and wear performance of pure polycarbonate (PC) and 5-30 per cent wollastonite-filled (by weight) PC were comparatively evaluated under dry sliding conditions. Wear tests were carried out at room temperature under the loads of 5-20 N and at the sliding speeds of 0.5-1.5 m/s. Design/methodology/approach – The microstructures of the wollastonite, pure PC and composites were examined by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The friction and wear tests were realized using a pin-on-disk arrangement against the hardened AISI 4140 steel. Findings – The result of this study indicated that the coefficients of friction wear rate of the materials were significantly influenced by an increase in wollastonite content. The friction coefficient of the PC was getting decreased from 0.457 to 0.198 with an increase in wollastonite content, depending on applied loads and sliding speeds. On the other hand, the results showed that the wear rates of pure PC and wollastonite-filled PCs decreased with an increase in loads. The wear rate of the PC decreased from 1.2 × 10−6 to 8.7 × 10−6 mm3/m with an increase in wollastonite content, depending on applied loads. Originality/value – There are many reports which deal with the friction and wear performance of the polymers and polymer composites. However, the effect of wollastonite effect on tribological performance of PC has up to now not been extensively researched.