What question did this study set out to answer?

This work aims to explore the abrasive wear resistance of various polymeric materials under lubricated conditions with sand contamination.

May 30, 2026Open Access

Tribological Properties of Polymeric Materials Lubricated by Sand Contaminated Water

MMM. M. MahmoudMinia University MMM. K. MohamedMinia University MYM. M. YoussefMinia University

Key Points

This work aims to explore the abrasive wear resistance of various polymeric materials under lubricated conditions with sand contamination.
Friction and wear tests on PMMA, PA6, PET, and PTFE at specified loads and sliding velocities.
Sand contamination at 1.0 wt. % with particle size of 30-50 µm in water and salt water environments.
Testing conducted for 300 seconds at an applied load of 150 N and various sliding velocities (0.4, 0.7, and 1.2 m/s).
The lowest friction observed was during PET sliding on PET, with significant increase in wear in the presence of salt water.
PTFE exhibited the least wear among the materials tested.
Salt water lubrication led to increased friction due to enhanced conductivity releasing electrostatic charge.

Abstract

The aim of this work is to investigate the abrasive wear resistance of four types of polymeric materials such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polyamide (PA6), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Friction and wear tests were carried out at water and salt water lubricated sliding conditions. Sand of particle size ranging from 30 to 50 µm was used as contaminant at 1.0 wt. % concentration. Tests were carried out at 150 N applied load and 0.4, 0.7 and 1.2 m/s sliding velocity for 300 seconds. The test results showed that a correlation between friction coefficient and voltage generated was found for polymers sliding against PET and against steel in water and salt water lubricated conditions. The results showed that motion of sand particles trapped in the contact area may be rolling or sliding. Rolling causes lower friction and wear. Sliding occurs when sand particles are embedded in one of the rubbing surfaces then they abrade the counterface and increase wear and friction. Hardness as well as triboelectrification of the rubbing surfaces and sand particles influence rolling and sliding. Increasing ESC will increase the adhesive force between the two rubbing surfaces, where embedment of sand or sticking is prevailing. Based on that, sand particles embed into PTFE and abrade the steel surface, while in condition of PET sliding on PET, sand tends to roll than embed in PET surface leading to drastic decrease in both friction and wear. Salt water as lubricating medium of PET shaft sliding on the tested polymeric materials caused significant friction increase. The lowest friction was displayed by sliding PET on PET, while wear of polymeric materials showed significant increase in the presence of salt water. The lowest wear was experienced by PTFE. Salt water caused remarkable wear increase. This behavior can be explained on the fact that good conductivity of salt water released the generated ESC and decreased the adherence of sand on the contact surface.

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