Investigation of the transition state in the wear of polyphenylene sulfide sliding against steel

The effect of sliding variables, including counterface roughness, sliding speed, and contact pressure, on the run-in state of wear and friction was studied. Sliding was performed in the pin-on-disk configuration with a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) pin resting on the flat steel counterface. Some experiments were also run to study the effect of air cooling and heating. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to study the shape and size of the wear debris, worn pin surface, and the transfer film formed on steel counterfaces. It was found that friction and wear in the run-in state were significantly affected by the sliding variables studied and their influence was closely related to the development of a transfer film during the run-in state. If the transfer film developed during initial sliding, the coefficient of friction increased and wear rate decreased. The wear rate in the run-in state increased with the increase in initial counterface roughness and there was an optimal counterface roughness of 0.06 mum Ra for minimum steady state wear rate. A higher applied load led to a higher wear rate in the run-in state but that was not the case with steady state wear rate.