Comparison of Wear on PEEK-PTFE and PPS-PTFE Radial Bearings under Rolling Contact Fatigue

Abstract

In this paper, the wear performance of polymer radial ball bearings (PEEK-PTFE and PPS-PTFE) were investigated. For effective operation of equipment in clean energy facilities environment, the polymer bearings were developed. These polymer bearings were produced by machining and their rolling contact fatigue (RCF) behavior under non-lubricated condition was carried out. PEEK accumulation layer with PTFE and graphite was formed on the bearing's inner ring under 3000 rpm high rotation speed. Due to the self-lubrication of PEEK layer, the wear loss of PEEK-PTFE bearing was lower than PPS-PTFE radial bearing. Moreover, it was found that the thin PEEK layer protected the raceway from the friction heat and wear. The wear durability of PEEK-PTFE bearing was superior to PPS-PTFE one.