WEAR OF TILLAGE TOOLS COATED BY THERMOPLASTIC COATINGS

Experiments were carried out to investigate the abrasive wear of tillage tools caused by soil. Low-carbon steel and hardened steel specimens as well as specimens coated by thermoplastic composites were tested. Silicon oxide (SiO2), aluminium oxide (Al2O3), iron, copper and glass fibre were used as filling materials in polyamide (PA6) and polyethylene (PE) coatings. Low-carbon steel was used as substrate. An abrasive wear tester was constructed to simulate the operation of real tillage tools. The relative motion between the test specimens and soil was controlled. PA6 showed promising results, especially if both the concentration and grain size of the additives were carefully selected. The addition of iron and Al2O3 powders to PA6 showed a considerable mitigation in the wear process if their concentrations were controlled to a certain limit.