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Tribological Characterization of Aromatic Thermosetting Copolyester–PTFE Blends in Air Conditioning Compressor Environment

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Abstract

The tribological behavior of a wide range of compositions using blends of aromatic thermosetting polyester (ATSP) with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has been investigated. PTFE was chosen as the blending material because of its low coefficient of friction and good performance at high temperatures and resistance to chemicals. ATSP blends were used to specifically combat some of the shortcomings of PTFE like its extremely low wear resistance and poor mechanical properties, and special processing requirements due to its high melt viscosity. Controlled tribological experiments simulating an air conditioning compressor operating with R134a refrigerant under realistic operating conditions were carried out with different ATSP/PTFE compositions, as well as four different state-of-the-art commercially available composites containing carbon fibers, graphite and PTFE. It was found that the newly synthesized composites exhibited superb tribological characteristics as far as low friction and low wear were concerned. The wear performance of PTFE was greatly improved, while it was shown that greater amounts of ATSP used in the blend lead to lower wear and the amount of ATSP did not significantly alter the friction coefficient. Material transfer and development of a weak film on the disk surface was observed, especially for the blends with higher PTFE content.

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Acknowledgments

This research work was supported in part by the 29 member companies of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center, an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Green St., Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Nicholaos G. Demas & Andreas A. Polycarpou

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1304 West Green St., Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Jing Zhang & James Economy

Authors
  1. Nicholaos G. Demas
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  2. Jing Zhang
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  3. Andreas A. Polycarpou
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  4. James Economy
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Correspondence to Andreas A. Polycarpou.

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Demas, N.G., Zhang, J., Polycarpou, A.A. et al. Tribological Characterization of Aromatic Thermosetting Copolyester–PTFE Blends in Air Conditioning Compressor Environment. Tribol Lett 29, 253–258 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-008-9303-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-008-9303-8

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