Temperature Dependence of the Static Friction Coefficient of Common Recyclable Polymers

According to the classical adhesion explanation for the phenomenon of friction, the friction coefficient between two surfaces is defined as the ratio between the horizontal friction force exerted on each surface and the perpendicular normal force between each surface. There is a paucity of published investigations into the relationship between the contact temperature of a polymer-nonpolymer physical interface and the resultant static friction coefficient at varying temperatures. This study investigates the relationship between temperature and the static friction coefficients of five recyclable thermoplastic polymers in polymer-aluminum interfaces across a range of temperatures. The results demonstrate a generalizable relationship between the static friction coefficient and the contact temperature of polymer-aluminum interfaces which corresponds to polymer-specific phase-change temperatures.