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Friction 2024, 12(4): 670-682 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0780-4
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 02 February 2024

Friction and wear performance of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymers in three lubrication regimes

Show Author's Information Davide MASSOCCHI1( ),  Nora LECIS1,  Marco LATTUADA2,  Davide SCAGLIA3,  Steven CHATTERTON1,  Paolo PENNACCHI1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan 20156, Italy
Eni SpA, Downstream product R&D, Lombardia 20097, Italy
Eurobearings S.R.L., Lombardia 29016, Italy
Keywords:
grease lubrication, tribology, sliding, additive manufacturing, oil lubrication, hydrodynamic bearings, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymers, ball-on-disk
Cite this article:
MASSOCCHI D, LECIS N, LATTUADA M, et al. Friction and wear performance of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymers in three lubrication regimes. Friction, 2024, 12(4): 670-682. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0780-4
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Abstract Full text About this article

This experimental study investigates the friction and wear of three coatings commonly used in industrial applications, particularly in hydrodynamic bearings. The three materials under investigation were Babbitt, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) reinforced with 15% carbon fibers, and PEEK reinforced with 20% carbon fibers. The first polymer material was extruded, while the other was produced by fused deposition modelling (FDM). The materials were subjected to sliding tests in a pin-on-disc configuration, with a steel ball serving as the counter surface. The tests were conducted at room temperature, with a load of 10 N and under three different lubrication conditions: dry, grease, and oil. The linear speed was set at 0.3 m/s for the dry and semi-solid lubrication tests, while for the oil tests, the speed was set at 0.25 m/s. The greases used had consistency grades of NGLI 000 and NGLI 2. An ISO VG 68 circulation oil was used for the oil lubrication tests. Additionally, thermodynamic analyses were performed under the most severe conditions (i.e., dry) to investigate the steel–Babbitt and steel–PEEK contact.


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Friction and wear performance of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymers in three lubrication regimes

Show Author's information Davide MASSOCCHI1( ), Nora LECIS1, Marco LATTUADA2, Davide SCAGLIA3, Steven CHATTERTON1, Paolo PENNACCHI1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan 20156, Italy
Eni SpA, Downstream product R&D, Lombardia 20097, Italy
Eurobearings S.R.L., Lombardia 29016, Italy

Abstract

This experimental study investigates the friction and wear of three coatings commonly used in industrial applications, particularly in hydrodynamic bearings. The three materials under investigation were Babbitt, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) reinforced with 15% carbon fibers, and PEEK reinforced with 20% carbon fibers. The first polymer material was extruded, while the other was produced by fused deposition modelling (FDM). The materials were subjected to sliding tests in a pin-on-disc configuration, with a steel ball serving as the counter surface. The tests were conducted at room temperature, with a load of 10 N and under three different lubrication conditions: dry, grease, and oil. The linear speed was set at 0.3 m/s for the dry and semi-solid lubrication tests, while for the oil tests, the speed was set at 0.25 m/s. The greases used had consistency grades of NGLI 000 and NGLI 2. An ISO VG 68 circulation oil was used for the oil lubrication tests. Additionally, thermodynamic analyses were performed under the most severe conditions (i.e., dry) to investigate the steel–Babbitt and steel–PEEK contact.

Keywords: grease lubrication, tribology, sliding, additive manufacturing, oil lubrication, hydrodynamic bearings, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymers, ball-on-disk

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 02 November 2022
Revised: 31 January 2023
Accepted: 19 May 2023
Published: 02 February 2024
Issue date: April 2024

Copyright

© The author(s) 2023.

Acknowledgements

The present work was undertaken under the support of the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research by means of the project Department of Excellence LIS4.0 (Integrated Laboratory for Lightweight e Smart Structures). We acknowledge Marco Lattuada (Eni SpA) for providing grease data and Davide Scaglia (Eurobearings S.R.L.) for providing disc specimens.

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