Static friction of metal - polymer pairs under vacuum conditions

The static friction of a series of polymer — steel friction pairs has been investigated as a function of the stationary contact time at temperatures from –150°C to +200°C. The experimental technique is described and the results of the experiments are evaluated.Novocherkassk Sergo Ordzhonikidze Polytechnic Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1065–1069, November–December, 1970.     

Modification of glass-filled polyamide 66 by reactive oligoorganosilane

Properties of glass-filled polyamide 66 modified by reactive oligoorganosilane were investigated. It was found that modification led to the improvement of the rheological properties of polyamide. The addition of the modifier decreased the glass transition temperature T_g of the polyamide from 60 to 50–59°C, without affecting the melting point. Composites modified by oligoorganosilane are characterized by higher (10–40°C) temperatures of onset and 50% weight loss as compared to the initial composite. It was found that chemical reaction of oligoorganosilane with polyamide and glass fibers took place during coextrusion of the modifier and polyamide, which formed firm chemical bonds between the polyamide and filler and thus favored a considerable improvement in the physicomechanical properties of the composite. The change in the structure and properties of the polyamide observed during modification by oligoorganosilane significantly affected its behavior during friction. The modification made it possible to increase the wear resistance of the composite 1.5 to 2 times and to decrease its friction coefficient from 0.38 to 0.27–0.33. It was also found that the ability of oligoorganosilane to react during its processing with water in the polyamide allowed for a significant decrease in the intensity of hydrolytic processes in the polymer. Because of this, the physicomechanical, rheological, and antifrictional properties of modified composites with an increased content of moisture (up to 3%) in the initial polyamide surpass similar characteristics of the composites containing no modifier, with not only enhanced but also optimum (0.2%) humidity of polymer granules.Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 545–553, July–August, 1998.     

Cold flow and melting of plastics under severe friction conditions

Dry friction of a series of crystalline polymers (polypropylene, nylon, PTFE) against steel over a wide range of sliding velocities (4.4–4.4×10^–4 cm/sec) and loads (P=7.5–360 kg) with almost complete mutual overlap of the friction surfaces is studied. It is shown that friction of polymer materials against steel may be accompanied by melting of the crystalline polymer (at high velocities) or cold flow (at low velocities) in the surface layers associated with an orientation effect and the appearance of anisotropy.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 95–100, 1965     

Effect of temperature on the chemical relaxation process in rubbers

The effect of temperature on the chemical relaxation of rubbers has been investigated. With reference to nine industrial rubbers it has been shown that during storage in the stressed state (at =const) chemical relaxation is chiefly determined by two processes proceeding at different rates. Furthermore, the chemical relaxation of rubbers is determined not only by the rate constants of these two processes but also by the pre-exponential constants C_0i, the relationship between which varies with increase in temperature. It is possible to extrapolate the rate constants (k_i) and pre-exponential constants (C_0i) from elevated temperatures (110–50° C) to temperatures in the range 20–25° C. An equation is proposed that makes it possible to calculate the change in the elastic properties of rubbers in the stressed state at storage temperatures (20–25° C) by means of results obtained at elevated temperatures.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 448–454, 1967     

Kinetics of crack growth in polymethylmethacrylate in various static tension regimes

It has been established that at medium stresses and temperatures crack development in PMMA takes place in three stages: in the first stage the crack grows with progressive deceleration; in the second stage, which determines the life of the specimen, there is almost no development; and only in the final stage does the rate of growth of the crack rapidly increase. Damage accumulation in the interior of the polymer remote from the main crack is shown to play an important part. Experimental stress and temperature dependences have been obtained for the starting velocity and the incubation period of crack development together with a universal relation between these characteristics. The processes determining the crack growth kinetics in the various phases of long-term static tension are given a physical basis.All-Union Correspondence Structural Engineering Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 904–911, September–October, 1971.     

Investigation of polytetrafluorethylene surface texture

Results are given of an X-ray investigation of the formation of a textured surface layer on polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) film and its dependence on external mechanical factors — unit load and sliding speed. It is established that the thickness of the surface texture of PTFE is determined by the relation between the processes of texture formation under the influence of frictional forces and its destruction by wear. These processes, in turn, are determined by the working parameters of the moving joint. Data on the kinetics of polymer surface texture formation in the presence of friction are extremely useful in relation to the design of efficient antifriction materials.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 129–132, 1965     

Experimental study of the contribution of interfacial friction to the deformation resistance of particle-reinforced polymers

A study has been made of the dissipative properties of heavily filled elastomers as influenced by friction of the elastic matrix on the surface of the solid filler particles. In order to model the frictional surface, specimens were predamaged by cyclic deformation, with strain amplitudes sufficient to cause separation of the matrix from the filler. The predeformation operation was performed by means of a mechanical system having individual particle-matrix bonds, so that it was possible to evaluate the contribution of interfacial friction to the resistance of the polymer. When external pressure was applied to the specimens, the width of the hysteresis loop increased with increasing pressure, obviously reflecting an increase of the surface friction in the matrix. It was established that for a given volumetric fill, the dissipation of mechanical energy increased with decreasing particle size (with increasing frictional surface area). The significant influence of interfacial friction on the level and rate of strain relaxation was demonstrated experimentally.Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, October 1995).Translated from Mekhanika Kompositnykh Materialov, Vol. 31, No. 5, pp. 579–583, September–October, 1995.     

Antifriction basalt-plastics based on polypropylene

A study is made of the dependence of the mechanical and friction-engineering properties of polypropylene reinforced with basalt fibers on the viscosity of the polymer matrix. It is established that the main factors that determine the mechanical properties of the plastics are the quality of impregnation of the fibers by the binder and the residual length of the reinforcing filler in the composite after extrusion and injection molding. The material that was developed has a low friction coefficient and low rate of wear within a relatively brood range of friction conditions. The basalt-plastics can be used in the rubbing parts of machines and mechanisms subjected to dry friction.Ukrainian State Chemicotechnical University, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov,33, No. 3, pp. 417–421, May–June, 1997.     

Effect of polymetaphenylene isophthalamide (phenylon) structure on the properties of an antifriction material

The relationship between phenylon structure and the friction properties of a phenylon-based material is established using the data of friction tests, x-ray analysis, and electron microscopy. It is shown that amorphization of the binder structure leads to a change in the coefficient of friction and to a displacement of the zone of maximum operating temperatures in the direction of higher values.Institute of Hetero-Organic Compounds, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 201–206, March–April, 1969.     

Rubber wear during friction against a metallic surface (with reference to packing glands for high-speed machine elements)

The wear of rubber in sliding against a metallic surface at high sliding velocities, which causes temperatures at the point of contact of the order of 100–250°C, has been studied. The theoretical equation obtained relates the wear of rubber during sliding against a metallic surface to its elastic-strength and friction properties and to the geometrical characteristics of the metal surface. Satisfactory agreement between theory and experiment is found.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp. 120–126, 1965     

Removing "silver" type microcracks in polymethyl methacrylate glass by dry friction

"Silver" type microcracks in polymethyl methacrylate are self-removed on aging. Dry friction can assist in their accelerated removal; by intensifying relaxation processes and causing flow in the surface layer of the polymer, it is able to restore both the polymer structure in the zones of "silver" type microcracks and also to age obvious microcracks. The restored polymer quality is stable. Dry friction raises the resistance of polymethyl methacrylate to splitting in failure.Lenin Civil Aviation Engineering Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 465–470, May–June, 1970.     

Study of the strength and coefficients of friction of metal-containing polymers based on heteropolyacids

The strength and coefficients of friction of new heat-resistant composite materials consisting of metallopolymers of iron and cobalt based on molybdosilicic and tungstosilicic heteropolyacids have been studied. It has been established that the use of a lubricant in the frication of metallopolymers over steel brings about a sharper deerease in the coefficients of friction than in the case of the friction of the compact material; this is due to the ability of the metallopolymers to absorb the lubricant material.Kiev Automobile-Road Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 931–933, September–October, 1973.     

Investigation of velocity dependence of rolling frictions as a means of studying adhesion

Investigation of the rolling of two cylinders on the device described in this paper has shown that a study of the rolling friction of bodies coated with polymer films offers a means of investigating adhesion processes. It has been found that the resistance to rolling of bodies coated with nonadhesive polymers has a tendency to increase with increase in velocity, in accordance with the electrical theory of adhesion. The resistance to rolling of bodies coated with adhesive polymers passes through a maximum as the velocity increases and then decreases, in accordance with the diffusion theory of adhesion.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 1, No. 4 pp. 117–122, 1965     

Antifrictional properties of compositions in the polyamide - copper system

Conclusion 1. The antifrictional properties of metallopolymer compositions made up by a thermal method in an air atmosphere (method A) and in a hydrogen atmosphere (method B), and also made up by mechanical mixing of P610 polyamide powders and PM grade copper (method C) have been investigated.2. It has been shown that the metallopolymer obtained by the thermal method in a hydrogen medium, at a degree of filling of 30% or more by wt., has less wear of the composition as compared with compositions made up by method C which are similar in degree of filling.3. Compositions made up by method A have a loosened structure and are comparable in wear resistance with the unfilled polymer.4. The coefficient of friction of the metallopolymer obtained in a hydrogen medium is less at the selected slippage regime than the coefficient of friction of the pure polyamide by a factor of 1.5, and is 20% less than that of the metal-filled composition made up by mechanical mixing in accordance with method C.5. It has been shown that the temperature on the friction surface of the metallopolymer made up by method B is less than that of the pure polyamide or the metal-filled composition made up by method C, by 40°C and by 20°C, respectively.Lenin Young Communist League. Riga Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1043–1048, November–December, 1978.     

Relation between the strength of polyethylene-steel adhesion bonds and the thickness of the ultrathin layer of polymer remaining on the surface of the metal

On the basis of the principle of ellipsometry and, moreover, the method of pyrolitic decomposition of the polymer with subsequent chromatographic analysis of the products of pyrolysis, a procedure has been developed for experimentally determining the thickness of the ultrathin layer of polymer that remains on the metal after failure of a polyethylene-steel adhesion bond. The nature of the relationship between the thickness of the residual polymer layer (200–800 Å) and the strength of the adhesion bond is established. It is concluded that the cohesion strength and the deformation at failure of the layer of adhesive next to the more rigid and stronger boundary layer have a decisive influence on the strength of the adhesion bond.Riga Polytechnic Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 420–424, May–June, 1976.     

The transfer mechanism in polymer friction

The process of material transfer in polymer friction has been investigated. The effect of the molecular and supermolecular structure of the polymer on the kinetics of the process is examined.Institute of Mechanics of Metal-Polymer Systems, Academy of Sciences of the Belorussian SSR, Gomel'. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 668–672, July–August, 1973.     

Nature and mechanism of friction of rubberlike polymers in different physical states

We have investigated the frictional properties of crosslinked butadiene-nitrile and butadiene-styrene copolymers and natural rubber in friction against polished steel under vacuum conditions in the temperature interval from –200 to +150° C, which embraces the glassy and high-elastic states, as well as the transition region between them. The temperature dependence of polymer friction is characterized by two maxima, a principal and a low-temperature maximum. The principal maximum, observed in the glass transition region, is not associated with the mechanical loss maximum observed in the polymers themselves. The temperature dependence of the force of friction is composed of three parts. In the high-elastic region there is an increase in the force of friction with fall in temperature, in accordance with the molecular-kinetic theory of friction of rubberlike polymers. In this region the nature of friction is associated with mechanical losses in the surface layer of polymer. The mechanical losses inside the polymer itself are unimportant. The deviation from the theoretical curve and the fall in the force of friction below a certain temperature in the transition region are chiefly associated with a decrease in the actual area of contact as the polymer passes into the glassy state. In the glassy region the friction is significantly determined by the mechanical losses in the polymer itself associated with the repeated elastic and forced-elastic deformation of the asperities in the layer of polymer in contact with the rigid surface. Therefore the low-temperature maximum is closely related to the mechanical loss maximum observed in the same temperature region in dynamic tests. Apart from this, the friction maximum is also associated with the increase in the forces of adhesion and the reduction of the actual area of contact at temperatures at which a forced-elastic mechanism of compression of the polymer asperities is not realized.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 123–135, 1967     

Wear resistance of cured epoxy-novolac compositions

It has been established that changing the elasticity of rigid crosslinked epoxy-novolac block copolymers changes the friction mechanism and wear characteristics. The optimal conditions for obtaining block copolymers with the greatest wear resistance have been determined. The results of testing epoxy novolacs in neutral and alkaline media are presented.Leningrad Lensovet Technological Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1107–1109, November–December, 1969.     

Relationship between internal stresses and rheological properties

It is shown that, under practically identical viscous-shear conditions, the correlation between orientation and relaxation processes taking place in an extruder die is different for different brands and batches of shock-resistant polystyrene. It has been found that the material with the the higher orientation tendency in the viscous-fluid state in the die is oriented more strongly at the same conditions in the Mackian elasticity state in the reception and pulling of the extruded polymer. It is shown that the thermal shrinkage of the sheets correlates reasonably well with the degree of swelling and the Mackian elasticity deformation of the polymer."Plastpolimer" Scientific-Industrical Association, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 952–955, September–October, 1972.     

Effect of liquid media on the deformation of the surface layers of a polymer-metal pair in sliding friction

The relation between the high-elastic component of polyurethane deformation and the deformation of the surface layers of metals has been investigated for sliding friction in various media. The surface layers of polymer and metal are plastically deformed. There is a certain correlation between the coefficient of friction and the amount of deformation.Kiev Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 147–149, January–February, 1970.