Study on tribological properties of frictional material based aromatic polyamide

The effect of inorganic fillers on the friction and wear behavior of fricti onal material based poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) (PMIA) is investigated . The polymer composites are prepared by compression molding. The friction and wear of PMIA composites are investigated on a block-on-ring machine by running the PMIA composite block against plain carbon steel. The morphologi es of the worn surface of PMIA composite and the ring counterface are exami ned by using electron probe microanalysis. It is found that copper compound s including CuCl, CuCl2, Cu2O, and CuO filled PMIA exhibit considerably hig her friction coefficient than unfilled PMIA, while the wear rate of those c omposites decrease. Especially, CuCl is the optimal filler in the copper co mpounds investigated above. The filled PMIA composite containing CuCl, grap hite, and short carbon fiber shows the best properties for frictional mater ial. The friction coefficient of CuCl-PMIA composite is higher than that of unfilled PMIA because of the abrasive action of CuCl particle. It is proba bly the smoother surface of counterpart ring and composite block that resul ted in the lower wear rate and friction coefficient of PMIA composite. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.