Dry Wear and Metallographic Study of PTFE Polymer Composites

The dry wear characteristics of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites filled with bronze, glass, and carbon fibers were investigated in heavy loading conditions. The scanning electron microscopy was used to determine the mechanisms of their dry wear. An energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis revealed great differences between the wear surfaces of the composites. The friction forces at a fixed load were found to be lower for the glass- and carbon-filled composites than for the PTFE and bronze-filled ones.