THE FRICTION AND WEAR BEHAVIOR OF POLYAMIDE-6 SLIDING AGAINST STEEL AT LOW-VELOCITY UNDER VERY HIGH CONTACT PRESSURES

The friction and wear behaviour of polyamide 6 sliding against steel u nder huge contact pressures and at very low sliding velocities was exa mined using large scale test specimens. The applied contact pressures and PV factors exceed the maximum allowable values cited in the litera ture. It is found that polyamide 6 resists huge contact pressures and allows relative sliding against steel without damaging the steel surfa ce. The wear (material loss) is moderate, even at the huge contact pre ssures for which plastic flow (creep) is considerable. Polyamide 6 sli ding against steel is found to be sensitive to stick-slip motion, whic h complicates accurate positioning, and the resulting vibrations can a lso lead to damage of the bearing material or even of the construction in which it is used. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.