Friction and Wear of Polyamide 66 With Different Weight Average Molar Mass

Abstract

The friction and wear of monolithic polyamide 66 (PA66) and a PA66 composite reinforced with short glass fibers were examined using a block-on-ring friction tester with particular focus on the effect of weight average molar mass (M (w)) of PA66. The amount of glass fibers in the composite and the molecular weight strongly affected the friction level and wear rate because it altered the shear strength and adhesion of PA66. In the case of the glass fiber-reinforced PA66 composites, the improvement of the tribological property was attributed to the increased softening temperature of the composite and reduced material transfer to the counter surface. From this study, the optimum composite having the improved wear resistance with the low friction level was achieved with the lower M (w) PA66 containing 40 vol.% glass fibers.