Wear and the Transition from Static to Mixed Lubricated Friction of Sorption or Spreading Dominated Metal-Thermoplastic Contacts

Stiction, run-in wear and friction of lubricated polyoxymethylene homopolymer (POM)- aliphatic polyamide (PA46)-steel tribosystems were investigated for mild-loaded mixed lubrication conditions with without thermal conditioning the polymers in lubricant prior to testing. Macroscopic oscillatory tribometry standard gliding experiments carried out. The hypothesis that sorption a into thermoplastic polymer partial solving surface by can change rate was tested. It found POM-lubricant-pairings, tribological behavior is dominated polymer; it not influenced spreading energy. For PA46-lubricant pairings, no mass uptake measured, changes hardness due aging. mild loading conditions, properties seem be primarily determined hardness-dependence abrasive contact less adhesion or hysteretic mechanisms.