Performance evaluation of composite gears composed of POM, CNTs, and PTFE

The main focus of this work is to enhance the load bearing capacity and life of the polyoxymethylene (POM) gears. For this purpose, composites with varying weight fractions of silane treated carbon nanotubes (CNTs), lubricating additive polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and synergistic combination of both CNTs and PTFE were fabricated by melt compounding using twin screw extruder followed by injection molding. Tensile properties and wear behavior of the developed composites are evaluated. Further, test spur gears were fabricated with the developed composites and their performance is evaluated using power absorption type gear test rig at different torques and rotational speeds. Composite gears with 1 wt% silanized CNTs and composite gears with 10 wt% PTFE and 1 wt% silanized CNTs exhibited better performance at all the applied toques and rotational speeds.

Automated summary

The study aimed to enhance the load bearing capacity and life of POM gears by fabricating composites with different additives, with composite gears containing 1% silanized CNTs and composite gears containing 10% PTFE and 1% silanized CNTs showing better performance at all applied torques and rotational speeds.