An investigation on low stress abrasive wear characteristics of high performance engineering thermoplastic polymers

Low stress (three-body) abrasive wear tests have been carried out on various unreinforced thermoplastic polymers using a rubber wheel abrasion test (RWAT) rig. Wear studies have been carried out using angular silica sand particles of size ranging between 150 and 250 μm and used as dry and loose abrasives. Abrasive wear studies was carried out at a constant sliding velocity (v = 2.4 m/s) of rubber wheel and at different loads (5–20 N). The results showed that abrasive wear rates were strongly influenced by the applied load and type of polymeric material. The worn surfaces have been observed using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to understand the possible wear mechanisms involved during material removal processes. It was observed that semicrystalline polymers reflected ductile failure mode whereas amorphous polymers dominated by brittle failure mode. Efforts were made to correlate the abrasive wear rates with various combinations of mechanical properties. Possible correlations between abrasive wear rates with mechanical properties are reported.

► Low stress abrasive wear on various unreinforced thermoplastic polymers.
► Abrasive wear rates strongly influenced by the applied load and type of polymeric materials.
► Semicrystalline polymers reflected ductile failure mode and amorphous polymers by brittle failure mode.
► A correlation between wear rates of polymers with various combinations of mechanical properties.