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Friction 2017, 5(4): 414-428 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-017-0155-9
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 16 June 2017

Aqueous lubrication and surface microstructures of engineering polymer materials (PEEK and PI) when sliding against Si3N4

Show Author's Information Anying WANG,  Shuai YAN,  Bin LIN( ),  Xiaofeng ZHANG,  Xiaoxue ZHOU
Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Keywords:
dry friction, tribological properties, PEEK, PI, aqueous lubrication, ceramic bearing
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WANG A, YAN S, LIN B, et al. Aqueous lubrication and surface microstructures of engineering polymer materials (PEEK and PI) when sliding against Si3N4. Friction, 2017, 5(4): 414-428. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-017-0155-9
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Abstract Full text About this article

Polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) and polyimide (PI) are two kinds of engineering polymer materials widely used as roller bearing cages and rings under extreme environment because of their noise reduction and corrosion resistance properties. The Si3N4 ceramic is the most common ball bearing material. Many current engineering applications of ball bearings require aqueous lubrication. Therefore, this study presents the aqueous lubrication of tribopairs formed by PEEK and PI material sliding against Si3N4 ceramic. Experimental results show that two tribopairs exhibited the similar tribological properties under the dry condition. Water as a lubricant for the PI–Si3N4 tribopair pairs effectively reduces both friction coefficients by 35.5% and wear rates by 32%. The water absorption of PI induces better tribological properties by changing the tribopair surface properties. In addition, the dimples appearing on the PI tribopair surface under water generate additional hydrodynamic lubrication and further improve the friction properties of surface. The PEEK–Si3N4 tribopair shows similar friction coefficients under two kinds of environments. The wear rates under water are approximately more than two times of that under dry sliding. However, water inhibits the appearance of the crush phenomenon and enhances the carrying capacity of the tribopair. Energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectra demonstrate no chemical corrosion. The 3D profiler and SEM morphologies illustrate that the transfer film would be formed from the surface of PEEK under water but hindered under dry friction. Overall, the PI–Si3N4 tribopair exhibits better properties than PEEK under water and is promising for future applications in the bearing industry.


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About this article

Aqueous lubrication and surface microstructures of engineering polymer materials (PEEK and PI) when sliding against Si3N4

Show Author's information Anying WANG, Shuai YAN, Bin LIN( ), Xiaofeng ZHANG, Xiaoxue ZHOU
Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China

Abstract

Polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) and polyimide (PI) are two kinds of engineering polymer materials widely used as roller bearing cages and rings under extreme environment because of their noise reduction and corrosion resistance properties. The Si3N4 ceramic is the most common ball bearing material. Many current engineering applications of ball bearings require aqueous lubrication. Therefore, this study presents the aqueous lubrication of tribopairs formed by PEEK and PI material sliding against Si3N4 ceramic. Experimental results show that two tribopairs exhibited the similar tribological properties under the dry condition. Water as a lubricant for the PI–Si3N4 tribopair pairs effectively reduces both friction coefficients by 35.5% and wear rates by 32%. The water absorption of PI induces better tribological properties by changing the tribopair surface properties. In addition, the dimples appearing on the PI tribopair surface under water generate additional hydrodynamic lubrication and further improve the friction properties of surface. The PEEK–Si3N4 tribopair shows similar friction coefficients under two kinds of environments. The wear rates under water are approximately more than two times of that under dry sliding. However, water inhibits the appearance of the crush phenomenon and enhances the carrying capacity of the tribopair. Energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectra demonstrate no chemical corrosion. The 3D profiler and SEM morphologies illustrate that the transfer film would be formed from the surface of PEEK under water but hindered under dry friction. Overall, the PI–Si3N4 tribopair exhibits better properties than PEEK under water and is promising for future applications in the bearing industry.

Keywords: dry friction, tribological properties, PEEK, PI, aqueous lubrication, ceramic bearing

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 11 October 2016
Revised: 25 December 2016
Accepted: 14 February 2017
Published: 16 June 2017
Issue date: December 2017

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© The author(s) 2017

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51375333, 50975199 and 51205285). Also the author thanks for all the members who have contributed their time and help in this research.

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