Effects of normal load on single-pass scratching of polymer surfaces

The effects of normal load and the resulting scratch depth on scratch force profile, scratch hardness and the mechanisms of deformation and material removal for a number of industrially important polymers are studied. Upon scratching by a 30° angled conical tip, the mean tangential or scratch force is found to be linearly related to the normal load at lower speed (0.2 mm s−1); however, at higher scratching speed (2.0 mm s−1), there is a decrease in the slope of the scratch force versus normal load curve for all polymers. The phenomenon of stick-slip is severe at higher normal loads and scratch depths for the polymers that show ductile nature. The scratch hardness for softer polymers tends to decrease with normal load, whereas for harder polymers, scratch hardness increases for intermediate loads and tends to decrease at very high loads. The deformation mechanism, to a large extent, is insensitive to the imposed normal load or the depth of scratching; however, material removal and debris formation process depends upon the scratch depth.