Connection between dynamic mechanical properties and sliding wear resistance of polymers

The viscoelasticity of several polymers has been determined using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). For the same materials the sliding wear in multiple scratching along the same groove has also been determined. The materials studied were polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), styrene/ acrylonitrile (SAN), Surlyn, polyethersulfone (PES), acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), low density polypropylene (LDPE) and Santoprene (an elastomer). Sliding wear was determined for several constant loads between 5 and 15 N. The penetration depth Rp and the residual depth Rh obtained from wear tests were confronted with DMA parameters: E9, E0 and tan d. An evident correlation between tan d and Rp is seen. Both penetration depth and residual depth increase along with tan d. Surface roughness obtained from atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides another kind of useful tribological information, with the highest value obtained for PS.