Wear 269 (2010) 291297

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Wear
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wear

A study on friction and wear properties of PTFE coatings under vacuum conditions
Xing-Dong Yuan a, , Xiao-Jie Yang b
a b

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong Jianzhu University, Shandong Jinan 250101, PR China Shandong Supervision and Inspection Institute for Product Quality, Shandong Jinan 250100, PR China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
The friction and wear properties of polytetrauoroethylene (PTFE) coatings were studied in detail on a ball-on-disk wear tester under vacuum conditions. Experimental results showed that the friction coefcients of the PTFE coatings rst increased with the increase of sliding velocity and then decreased with the increase of sliding velocity when the sliding velocity was higher than 1.2 m/s. The wear of the PTFE coating rst decreased with the increase of sliding speed and then increased as the sliding speed increased. The friction coefcient decreased with the increase of load. The wear of PTFE coating rst decreased with the increase of load and then increased with the increase of load when the load was higher than 6 N. The environmental pressure has insignicant effect on the friction coefcient of PTFE coating, and the friction coefcient of PTFE coating under air condition is slightly higher than that under vacuum condition. The wear rst decreased with the increase of environmental pressure and then increased rapidly with the increase of environmental pressure when the pressure was higher than10 Pa. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was utilized to investigate the worn surfaces, the self-lubricating lms and debris. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 5 December 2009 Received in revised form 31 March 2010 Accepted 15 April 2010 Available online 22 April 2010 Keywords: Sliding wear Two-body abrasion Polymers High vacuum Electron microscopy Wear testing

1. Introduction Polytetrauoroethylene (PTFE) is a popular polymer solid lubricant because of its resistance to chemical attack in a wide variety of solvents and solutions, high melting point, low coefcient of friction, and biocompatibility. It is commonly used in bearing and seal applications [1]. PTFE exhibits poor wear and abrasion resistance, leading to early failure and leakage problem in the machine parts. Gong et al. [2] and Blanchet and Kennedy [3] report unlled wear-rates of 7.36 104 and 7.41 104 mm3 /N m, respectively. To minimize this problem, various suitable llers were added to PTFE. Many investigations [47] report that the coefcient of friction can, generally, be reduced and the wear resistance improved when the polymers are reinforced with glass, carbon and aramid bers. Zhang et al. [8] examined the friction and wear properties of PTFE composites lled with Pb3 O4 , Cu2 O or PbO (addition quantity is 30%, in volume fraction) sliding against GCr15-bearing steel under dry friction condition by using an MHK2500 ring-block wear tester. The results show that the friction properties of these metal oxides lled PTFE composites are almost the same as that of pure PTFE, but the anti-wear properties of these lled PTFE composites are much better than that of pure PTFE. Gregory Sawyer et al. [1] reported a solid lubricant composite material made by compres-

Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 531 86367284; fax: +86 531 88118729. E-mail address: yangxiaojie0130@163.com (X.-D. Yuan). 0043-1648/$ see front matter 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.wear.2010.04.014

sion molding PTFE and 40 nm alumina particles. The results indicate that the friction coefcient of the composite increased over unlled samples from roughly = 0.15 to = 0.2, At ller concentrations of 20 wt.%, the wear resistance improved 600, and the wear resistance of this composite increased monotonically with increasing ller concentration. Five kinds of polytetrauoroethylene (PTFE)based composites, pure PTFE, PTFE + 30(v)% MoS2 , PTFE + 30(v)% PbS, PTFE + 30(v)% CuS, and PTFE + 30(v)% graphite (GR) composites, were rst prepared by Zhang et al. [9]. The results indicate that lling with MoS2 , PbS, CuS, or graphite to PTFE can reduce the wear of the PTFE composites by two orders of magnitude compared to that of pure PTFE under dry friction conditions. The friction and wear properties of polytetrauoroethylene (PTFE) lled with ultrane diamond (UFD) were studied in detail on a block-on-ring wear tester under dry sliding conditions. Experimental results showed that there was no signicant change in coefcient of friction, but the wear rate of the PTFE composite was orders of magnitude less than that of pure PTFE with increasing puried UFD content [10]. Furthermore, Menzel et al. [11] found that the wear resistance of bulk polytetrauoroethylene (PTFE) when siding against polished steel counterface is shown to be improved by over two orders of magnitude through the use of gamma irradiation. To this date, a literature search on polymer coatings used in engineering applications yields a scarce amount of work on PTFEbased coatings and other polymer coatings with thicknesses in the order of 1530 m, while to the authors knowledge there is few data in the open literature for tribological performance of PTFE-

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based coatings under vacuum conditions. Polymeric, PTFE-based coatings were investigated for use in air-conditioning compressors. The PTFE-based coatings showed low friction characteristics and high load carrying capacity and it was found that they were not greatly affected by the testing environment. There was a signicant increase in wear of the coatings under high contact pressures, however, it was shown that the wear debris generated acted as a third-body lubricant with a benecial role in the overall wear performance [12]. Guo et al. [13] studied the effects of heat treatment temperature and time on the hardness and the wear resistance of RE (rare earth)-Ni-W-P-PTFE-SiC and RE-Ni-W-P-SiC composite coatings. The results indicated that the abrasion rate was lowest at 400 C. The rate of abrasion increased with a further rise in the temperature. The wear resistance increased with a rise in heat treatment time, and reached their peak values after 2 h of heat treatment. The experimental results also showed that the wear rate diminished correspondingly with an increase in PTFE quantity. Balaji et al. [14] prepared the composite coatings of bronze (copper with 1015% tin) with PTFE (polytetrauoroethylene) particles by means of CECD (conventional electrodeposition) and SCD (sediment co-deposition) techniques. Results showed that the wear resistance of the bronzePTFE composite coatings can be improved by the presence of dry lubricant PTFE particles and the wear resistance increases by increasing the PTFE particles in the deposit. Ramalho and Miranda [15] investigated the friction and wear behavior of several electroless NiP and NiP composite coatings with PTFE particles. The role of heat treatment of the coating is discussed. Concerning the wear resistance, the heat treatment was very effective on the NiP coatings, while the NiP + PTFE coating reveals the same wear resistance in both cases: as-deposited and heat treated. Yamane et al. [16] investigated the inuence of the counter materials on wear and friction performance of polytetrauoroethylene (PTFE) reservoirs arranged in distinct patterns on coated surfaces. Binary metalPTFE coatings that have low friction coefcient and high wear resistance were developed and their tribological performance reported [17,18]. Bodas et al. [19] deposited poly (tetrauoro ethylene) (PTFE) lms by RF sputtering technique on mirror polished silicon 1 0 0 substrates. Fu et al. [20] electrodeposited Agpolytetrauoroethylene (PTFE) composite lm with silver-gilt solution of nicotinic acid by a bi-pulse electroplating power supply on 316 L stainless steel bipolar plate of PEMFC. Surface topography, contact angle, interfacial conductivity and corrosion resistance of the bipolar plate samples were investigated. Xu et al. [21] researched corrosion rate and anode polarization curves of electrodeposited RE-Ni-W-P-Sic-PTFE composite coating in various concentrations of phosphoric and ferric chloride. Electroless Ag-polytetrauoroethylene (PTFE) composite coatings were prepared on stainless steel sheets. The existence and distribution of PTFE in the coatings were analyzed with an energy dispersive X-ray

microanalysis (EDX) [22]. Nipolytetrauoroethylene (PTFE) composite coating was successfully prepared by brush electroplating. The microstructure of NiPTFE composite coating was observed by S-2700 SEM and Sirion 200 eld emission SEM [23]. In this paper, the friction and wear behaviors of PTFE coatings sliding against GCr15-bearing steel ball under vacuum conditions were investigated, and the friction and wear mechanisms of PTFE coatings under vacuum conditions were also studied. It is expected that this study may be helpful to the application of the PTFE coatings in aerospace elds. 2. Experimental details 2.1. Material The PTFE coatings supplied by China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) were fabricated on LY12 substrates with the diameter of 70 mm and the depth of 10 mm by PVD (physical vapor deposition) method on both sides. The thickness and the hardness of coatings were 20 m, and 24HV respectively. 2.2. Experimental approach The friction and wear behavior of PTFE coatings was performed on a ball-on-disk wear tester (Model TB-1000) under vacuum conditions (104 Pa). An illustration of the ball-on-disk wear tester used in this study was shown in Fig. 1. All PTFE coatings were slid against a GCr15-bearing steel ball, which is 10 mm in diameter and HRC67 in hardness. All sliding tests were carried out at a linear velocity from 0.2 to 2.4 m/s, loads from 4 to 12 N, and the distance of 1000 m. The surfaces of PTFE coatings and the GCr15-bearing steel ball were cleaned with acetone prior to each test. In this work, three samples were tested at each condition. The friction coefcient and wear were the average values of these tests for each condition. The friction coefcient was determined by measuring the friction torque, while the friction torque was detected by a torque measuring system. The wear was detected by the weight loss of the PTFE coatings after each test to an accuracy of 0.01 mg. Finally, the worn surfaces of the PTFE coatings and debris were investigated by using Scanning Electron Microscope. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. The wear process of PTFE coatings Fig. 2 shows the wear process of PTFE coatings sliding at the velocity of 0.8 m/s and different loads under vacuum conditions. Obviously, the wear process of PTFE coatings consists of three stages. This is in agreement with the conclusion obtained by [24].

Fig. 1. A schematic illustration of (a) the ball-on-disk wear tester; (b) contact conguration of frictional pair.

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Fig. 2. The wear process of PTFE coatings sliding at 0.8 m/s and different loads (a) 4 N; (b) 8 N; (c) 10 N; (d) 12 N.

It is expected that there are self-lubricating lms formed on the surface of GCr15-bearing steel ball, which is due to the excellent adhesiveness of PTFE coatings. The formation and damage of the self-lubricating lm occurred alternately, and then the step was formed. 3.2. The effect of sliding velocity on the friction and wear behavior of PTFE coatings The friction coefcient and wear of PTFE coatings under different sliding velocities are shown in Figs. 3 and 4, respectively. It can be seen from Fig. 3 that the surrounding environments have small inuence on the friction coefcients of PTFE coatings. The same result is obtained in Sections 3.3 and 3.4. The friction coefcients of PTFE coatings under vacuum and air conditions are similar to each other and have similar trend curves. It also can be seen that the friction coefcients of the PTFE coatings rst increase with the increase of sliding velocity and then decrease with the increase of sliding velocity when the sliding velocity is higher than 1.2 m/s. The variation of wear with sliding speed under the vacuum condition is shown in Fig. 4. The result shows that the wear of the PTFE coating rst decreases with the increase of sliding speed and then increases as the sliding speed increases. It is believed that, with the increase of sliding speed, a layer of self-lubricating lm can be formed more easily on the frictional surface. Then the lubrication condition at the rubbing surface can be greatly improved. Therefore, the wear of the PTFE coating decreases

with the increase of sliding speed. However, with a further increase of sliding speed, the temperature rises which is caused by frictional heating [25] at rubbing surface results in the reduction of mechanical strength and load carrying capacity of the PTFE coating; this

Fig. 3. Variations of friction coefcient with sliding velocity (load, 6 N).

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Fig. 4. Variations of wear with sliding velocity (load, 6 N and pressure, 104 Pa).

Fig. 6. Variations of wear with load (sliding speed, 0.8 m/s and pressure, 104 Pa).

can lead to the increase of wear of the PTFE coating. Meanwhile the damage of the self-lubricating lm also leads to the increase of wear of the PTFE coating. 3.3. The effect of load on the friction and wear behavior of PTFE coating The variation of friction coefcient and wear with load are shown in Figs. 5 and 6. It can be seen from Fig. 5 that the friction coefcient decreases with the increase of load and surrounding environment does not affect the friction coefcient signicantly. The result in Fig. 6 shows that the wear of PTFE coating under vacuum condition rst decreases with the increase of load and then increases with the increase of load when the load is higher than 6 N. During the early period of friction, the grain-abrasion and adhesionabrasion are the main wear mechanisms which lead to the plough effect and the shift of coatings to the surface of GCr15-bearing steel ball. Furthermore, the coatings have low density. Therefore, abrasive wear happened severely under the low load. With the increase

of the load, the wear reduces which attributes to the formation of the self-lubricating lm. However, with a further increase of the load, the wear increases rapidly with the increase of load due to the increase of the shear force applied to the edge of wear track. It is approved by Section 3.5. 3.4. The effect of environmental pressure on the friction and wear behavior of PTFE coating Fig. 7 shows the variation of the friction coefcient with the environmental pressure. The result indicates that the environmental pressure has insignicant effect on the friction coefcient of PTFE coating. This is consistent with the results obtained above. The friction coefcient of PTFE coating under air condition is slightly higher than that under vacuum condition due to the water vapor in air. The variation of wear with the environmental pressure is shown in Fig. 8. The results showed that the wear of PTFE coatings is greatly affected by the environmental pressure. It can be seen that the wear

Fig. 5. Variations of friction coefcient with load (sliding speed, 0.8 m/s).

Fig. 7. Variations of friction coefcient with environmental pressure (sliding speed, 0.8 m/s and load, 6 N).

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Fig. 10. The SEM micrograph of self-lubricating lms sliding at 6 N with the speed of 0.8 m/s. Fig. 8. Variations of the wear with environmental pressure (sliding speed, 0.8 m/s and load, 6 N).

Fig. 9. SEM micrographs of the worn surfaces of the PTFE coatings sliding at 6 N and different sliding speeds (a) 0.4 m/s; (b) 0.8 m/s.

Fig. 11. SEM micrographs of the edge of wear track for the PTFE coatings sliding at 0.8 m/s and different loads (a) 6 N; (b) 10 N.

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rst decreases with the increase of environmental pressure and then increases rapidly with the increase of environmental pressure when the pressure is higher than 10 Pa. It is expected that the grainabrasion and adhesion-abrasion are the main wear mechanisms under both vacuum condition and air condition. However, most heat is absorbed by PTFE coatings because of a low rate of heat exchange under vacuum conditions. Therefore, adhesion-abrasion plays a more important role under vacuum conditions. 3.5. SEM examination of worn surfaces Fig. 9 shows the SEM micrographs of the worn surfaces of the PTFE coatings sliding against GCr15-bearing steel ball with different sliding speed under vacuum condition at 6 N. It is observed from Fig. 9(a) that the worn surface of the PTFE coating is characterized by severe plastic deformation, micro cracking and spalling of the PTFE coating when the sliding speed is 0.4 m/s. And the worn sur-

face of the PTFE coating is relatively smooth with some evidence of ploughing when the sliding speed is 0.8 m/s as shown in Fig. 9(b). Fig. 10 shows the SEM micrograph of the self-lubricating lms formed on the surface of PTFE coatings sliding against GCr15bearing steel ball at 6 N with the speed of 0.8 m/s under vacuum conditions. It can be seen that a relative smooth surface is obtained when the self-lubricating lm is formed. Micro cracks are clearly seen from the SEM images, which will result in the spalling of selflubricating lms. The SEM micrographs of the edge of wear track for the PTFE coatings sliding against GCr15-bearing steel ball at 6 and 10 N with the sliding speed of 0.8 m/s under vacuum condition is shown in Fig. 11(a) and (b). It can be seen that the edge of wear track is characterized by micro cracking at 6 N. However, the edge of wear track is crushing at 10 N. 3.6. SEM examination of debris Debris is a product of frictional experiment, and analyzing debris is helpful for comprehending friction and wear mechanism. In this work, SEM is also used for analysis of debris. SEM micrographs of debris for PTFE coatings sliding against GCr15-bearing steel ball under vacuum condition are given in Fig. 12(a) and (b). It can be seen that the debris of PTFE coatings are ake, which is associated with the structure of PTFE. The similar result was obtained by Lai et al. [10]. They found that the debris of pure PTFE and PTFE composite were ake and the debris of pure PTFE are much bigger than that of its composite. 4. Conclusions (1) The friction coefcients of the PTFE coatings rst increase with the increase of sliding velocity and then decrease with the increase of sliding velocity when the sliding velocity is higher than 1.2 m/s under vacuum conditions. The wear of the PTFE coating rst decreases with the increase of sliding speed and then increases as the sliding speed increases under vacuum conditions. (2) The friction coefcient decreases with the increase of load under vacuum conditions. The wear of PTFE coating rst decreases with the increase of load and then increases with the increase of load when the load is higher than 6 N under vacuum conditions. (3) The environmental pressure has insignicant effect on the friction coefcient of PTFE coating. The friction coefcient of PTFE coating under air condition is slightly higher than that under vacuum condition. The wear decreases with the increase of environmental pressure and then increases rapidly with the increase of pressure when the pressure is higher than10 Pa. (4) The worn surface of the PTFE coating is characterized by severe plastic deformation, micro cracking and spalling of the PTFE coating when the sliding speed is 0.4 m/s under vacuum conditions. And the worn surface of the PTFE coating is relatively smooth with some evidence of ploughing when the sliding speed is 0.8 m/s under vacuum conditions. (5) A relative smooth surface is obtained when the self-lubricating lm is formed. Micro cracks are clearly seen from the SEM images, which will result in the spalling of self-lubricating lms. (6) The debris of PTFE coatings sliding against GCr15-bearing steel ball under vacuum condition are ake. References

Fig. 12. SEM micrographs of debris for PTFE coatings (a) sliding speed, 0.8 m/s and load, 10 N; (b) sliding speed, 0.2 m/s and load, 6 N.

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