Friction of the Polymers - Experimental Results and Analytical Model

To determine the friction forces and friction coefficient in dry and lubricated conditions between steel and a triol crosslinked polyurethane, the authors developed a new experimental method consist in sliding of a steel cylinder on a plate polymer sample in the direction of the cylinder axis. By using this method the experiments were realized on a deformed path in the polymer sample by maintaining the same pressure distribution between the contact elements during the experiments. The experiments were realized with normal load between 1 N and 8 N and a cyclic linear speed having values between 1mm/s and 10 mm/s. Were determined the friction forces and friction coefficients in dry and lubricated contacts. An analytical model to evaluate the friction force in the cylinder – polymer contact surface has been developed and a good correlation with the experiments was obtained.