THE TRANSFER AND WEAR OF NYLON AND CUS-NYLON COMPOSITES - FILLER PROPORTION AND COUNTERFACE CHARACTERISTICS

This work was done as a follow-up of an earlier study which showed that CuS as the filler in nylon was very effective in reducing the wear of nylon. The aspects investigated were the variation of wear with the filler proportion in CuS-nylon composite and the wear of nylon and its composite with counterface surface roughness and materials. It was found that 35 vol.% CuS as the filler was most effective in reducing the wear of nylon. The wear rate of unfilled nylon increased with the increase in surface roughness R(a) from 0.04 to 0.3 mum but that of the composite did not change with the increase in R(a) from 0.04 to 0.11 mum. The wear rates of both the unfilled and filled nylons were considerably higher for sliding against glass counterfaces than against tool steel disks. The differences in wear rates with the counterface roughness and materials are examined in terms of the transfer film characteristics. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies revealed the presence of Cu in the transfer film of CuS-nylon composite, thereby indicating the decomposition of CuS during sliding conditions. This decomposition played a role in bonding between the composite transfer film and counterface materials.