Tribological performances of polymeric plain bearings made of epoxy matrix with UHMWPE, MoS ₂ , Kevlar and base oil as the fillers

Thermal, mechanical and tribological performances of epoxy-based composites, filled with UHMWPE, MoS 2 and Kevlar TM or base oil in different proportions, were investigated. Friction coefficient and specific wear rate were examined by a block-on-cylinder tribotester in a dry sliding condition under variable contact pressure and sliding velocities. It was found that the composite with in-situ base oil possesses the lowest coefficient of friction (0.056) and highest wear resistance (5.77 × 10 −6 mm 3 /Nm) at relatively high PV factor (product of contact pressure and sliding velocity) of 37 MPa-m/s when compared to other composites. Kevlar-filled composite provided low wear rate at very high PV factor of 52.5 MPa-m/s.