Effect of water absorption on erosive wear behaviour of polyamides

Two polyamides (PAs) viz. PA 6 and PA 12 were selected for investigating the influence of water absorption on some physical, mechanical and tribological properties. Erosive wear studies on water treated and untreated samples were carried out at two impact angles viz. 30degrees and 90degrees. Tests on tensile strength of untreated and treated polyamides revealed that the water treatment resulted in enhancement for PA12 and reduction for PA 6. Exactly similar trends were reflected in their erosive wear performance also. The water absorption deteriorated the wear performance of PA 6 at both the angles, whereas the erosion wear behaviour of PA 12 improved at both the angles due to water absorption. The improvement was more significant at the angle of 30degrees rather than 90degrees. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) investigations were done to study the topography of worn surfaces and to understand the wear mechanisms. (C) 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers.