Tribological properties of polytetrafluoroethylene composites filled with rare earths modified glass fibers

Abstract

Rare earths were used to modify the surface of glass fiber in order to enhance the interfacial adhesion and improve the tribological properties of GF/PTFE composites. Three surface modifiers, a coupling agent, rare earths, and a mixture of coupling agent and rare earths, were investigated. It is found that the tensile properties of rare earths modified GF/PTFE composites were improved considerably under the same experimental conditions. The PTFE composites, filled with rare earths modified glass fibers, exhibited the lowest friction coefficient and the highest wear resistance under both dry friction and oil-dropped lubrication conditions. In addition, rare earths modified GF/PTFE composites showed the highest wear resistance under reciprocating impact load. The worn surfaces observation shows that rare earth elements modifier are superior to coupling agent modifier and the mixture of coupling agent and rare earths in promoting interfacial adhesion between the glass fiber and PTFE, accordingly improve tribological properties of GF/TFE composites due to their outstanding chemical activity.

Keywords

rare earths / GF/PTFE composites / tribological properties

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