Search

Plastic-based bushings and bearings are used in some parts of the machines used in different sectors of the industry. In applications where high temperature, corrosion, chemical resistance and wear resistance are required, choosing a right material is very important for the service life of the machine element. In this study, the tribological performances of pure poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) polymer and 30% by weight glass fiber (GF) reinforced poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK-30GF) composite were investigated. The materials used in the experiments are in the form of rods produced for industrial purposes by the extrusion method. Tribological experiments were carried out 2000 m under dry sliding conditions at room temperature using a pin-on-disc wear test device. Two different loads (30 N and 60 N) and four different speeds (1, 2, 3 and 4 m s-1) were used in the experiments. As a result of the experiments, the friction coefficient, pin temperature and specific wear rate of pure PEEK polymer and 30% glass fiber reinforced PEEK composite were determined. As a result of the experiments, with the increase of the sliding speed, the wear rate of both pure PEEK and glass fiber reinforced PEEK composite increased, while the friction coefficient values decreased. At low load (30 N) and speed (1 m s-1), PEEK composite was found to be 2.46 times more wear resistant than pure PEEK polymer. In addition, microstructure examinations of the wear surface of the test materials were carried out using an optical microscope. Adhesive wear at low loads and speeds and abrasive wear mechanisms at high speeds and loads were observed for both test materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to find the best wear resistant polymer or polymer composite pair that can be used in electrical contact breaker applications. For this, the pin-on-disc (PoD) wear test machine was used. Poly-etherether- ketone (PEEK) polymer and 20% and 30% by weight glass fiber (GF) reinforced PEEK composites were used as pin material. Long glass fiber reinforced and calcium carbonate mineral-filled unsaturated polyester composite material was used as the counterpart material. In the tribological experiments, while the effect of glass fiber reinforcement on wear was examined, the effect of the applied pressure was also investigated. The highest wear rate was obtained in PEEK+30% GF polymer composite with 4.42x10-14 m2 N-1 under 5.30 MPa pressure, while the lowest wear rate was obtained with 1.13x10-14 m2 N-1 under 1.77 MPa pressure. As a result of the study, it was determined that among the materials subjected to the wear test, the long glass fiber reinforced and calcium carbonate filled pure polyester composite material and the pure PEEK polymer pair were the most suitable pairs for electrical contact breaker applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]