Dynamic mechanical properties of polymer-lining and their effect on coefficient of friction

Abstract

To obtain the dynamic and thermomechanical properties of polymer-lining and their effect on coefficient of friction (COF) between lining and wire rope, dynamic mechanical ana-lysis (DMA) and friction experiment were performed on the polymer-linings of GM-3 and K25. The effects of temperature and frequency on storage modulus (E₁), loss modulus (E₂), and loss factor (tanΔ) were obtained by DMA based on the theory of viscoelasticity. It was observed that the values of E₁ increased with increasing frequency at−20–375 °C, while the values of E₂ and tanΔ increased with frequency from T_g (glass-transition temperature) and reversed at higher temperature. Moreover, friction experiments were conducted on a special friction tester at different surrounding temperatures to measure COF of K25 and GM-3. It is found that the COF increases linearly with the loss factor, which can give good explanation for why COF increases with low sliding speed. Therefore, it is feasible and effective for increasing the loss factor or decreasing the storage modulus to improve polymer-lining's COF, which can also supply theoretical support for developing new lining with high tribological property.