Effects of Fillers on Friction and Wear Properties of Bonded Solid Lubricant Coatings

Effects of the fillers (Cu, SiC, and h-BN) on friction and wear properties of PTFE-based epoxy resin bonded solid lubricant coatings were studied by using an MMW-10 friction and wear tester under the conditions of dry friction condition, room temperature, load of 128 N and sliding speed of 170 r·min-1. The worn surface morphology and wear mechanism of the coatings were analyzed. The results show that, comparing with the unfilled sample, the wear mass loss of the sample filled with SiC, h-BN decreased by 60% and 65.3%, respectively. The wear mass loss of the sample filled with Cu was only 4.2 mg, and it was 29.2% of the wear mass loss of the unfilled sample. The worn surface of the unfilled samples appeared rough, showing some obvious plucked marks. The worn surfaces of the filled samples were smoother than that of the unfilled sample, showing narrower and shallower wear depth and wear width. Fillers changed the wear mechanism of the coatings, resulting in the change of wear form from single adhesive wear of PTFE to primary abrasive wear of the fillers with some adhesive wear of PTFE. This change enhanced the load-bearing capacity of the coatings, strengthened the bond between coating and substrate, improved the wear-resistance of coatings.