Friction and Wear Studies on Polyphenylene Sulfide Filled with a Complex Mixture
The tribological behavior of PPS filled with molybdenum-concentrate (MC) deposit from Armenia was studied. The deposit MC was a complex mixture of compounds such as MoS2, SO2, CuS, Al2O3, and others. Whereas MC as the filler in particulate form reduced the steady state wear rate of PPS, the optimum reduction in wear was found to occur with the addition of PTFE along with PPS. The behavior of PPS composites made with MC and PTFE sliding against a steel counterface was investigated as a function of the MC and PTFE proportions, sliding speed, and counterface roughness. Of all the above factors, the change in MC proportion, while PTFE was also present, had the greatest effect on the reduction in wear rate. The variation of the coefficient of friction was found to be in the narrow range of 0.27-0.33. The lowest wear rate was found in the case of PPS+ 17vol.%MC+10vol.%PTFE composite sliding at 1.5 m/s against a counterface roughness of 0.1 μm Ra.