Material Wear Evaluation using Temperature Controlled Wear Testing 2013-01-1218

One of the commonly used methods for evaluating friction and wear behavior of hard plastics is described in ASTM 3702 test specification. Wear tests conducted using this test method show that friction coefficient is dependent on temperature (generated due to friction), especially for filled plastics. Tests with high load and / or speed result in melting of the plastic due to excessive temperature build up. In the present study, a method has been developed to conduct dry and lubricated wear tests while controlling test temperature. Controlling temperature ensures that the failure mode of the test specimen is due to wear and not due to melting resulting from excessive temperature build up. The details of temperature control for both dry and lubricated wear tests are outlined and wear rate / friction for different combinations of loads and speeds are presented. The wear rates and friction coefficients obtained from temperature controlled tests can directly be used to rate materials for wear / friction performance.