Investigation of Selected Polymer Composite-Aluminum Oxide Coating Tribological Systems

Abstract

The tribotesting of friction systems requires discussion on proper selection of its conditions and data presentation. System tribology is based, for example, on analysis of the friction contact, the roughness of the cooperating surfaces, and the wear rate of the rubbing elements or coefficient of friction in relation to the sliding distance. Friction pairs, consisting of an aluminum alloy sample with an oxide layer (Al2O3) with and without the addition of inorganic fullerenes like tungsten disulphide (IF-WS2) nanoparticles on its surface cooperating with a counter-sample made of polymer composites prepared on the basis of phenol-formaldehyde resin with different fillers, were tested using a device with a pin-on-plate friction pair system. The results of the experiments showed sufficient durability of the Al2O3 and Al2O3/IF-WS2 oxide coatings in combination with the polymer composite. It was found that resin fillers such as cotton fibers, jute fibers, molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) or graphite (C) influence the friction behavior of the tribological pairs. Although the values of the coefficient of friction obtained in the tests were quite high, their course during the tests ensured stable cooperation of the aluminum coating/polymer composite friction pair on a 15 km distance, under a load of 0.5 MPa. The lowest coefficients of friction were obtained for oxide layers formed on aluminum combined with a polymer composite filled with cotton fibers and graphite. These studies provide information on the tribological properties of commercially available polymer composites cooperating with the produced oxide coatings, supplementing the available literature with the results of research on new, so far unexplored tribological partners. Microscopic investigation of the structure and morphology of the formed surface oxide layers and also microgeometry studies of both the friction elements were used to better understand the obtained research results.

Challenges for the DOE methodology related to the introduction of Industry 4.0

“…These highly advanced analytical methods, which differ greatly in mathematical apparatus from relatively simple industrial methods, are particularly useful for analyzing the properties and behavior of materials with complex microstructures (Capriz et al, 2002), non-isotropic materials, and materials whose properties change rapidly over time, e.g. metal foams (Rajak and Gupta, 2020), composites (Panasenko, 2005) and nanomaterials (Korzekwa et al, 2018;Korzekwa et al, 2020).…”

Influence of Anodizing Parameters on Tribological Properties and Wettability of Al2O3 Layers Produced on the EN AW-5251 Aluminum Alloy

“…Aluminum alloys with a high magnesium content and small admixtures of other elements (5xxx series) are very well suited for anodizing. They are characterized by high plasticity and corrosion resistance [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”