Abstract
Plastic materials are now increasingly used in tribological systems, as their specific properties may be utilised to increase the lifetime and reliability of all system elements. This paper addresses the reduction of wear as the result of the radiation-induced crosslinking of plastics. As a typical example of sliding wear, studies were performed to determine the wear on radiation-crosslinked ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene used in textile machines and the limitations of this modified material determined. The specific objective was the development of appropriate thermoplastics for use as counterparts to steel components in the traversing unit in a winding machine with the aim of increasing its lifetime. High wear resistance on the surface, low moisture absorption under changing ambient conditions plus high impact strength were found to be the fundamental properties for the fulfilment of the specific demands for this application. To summarise, it is established that radiation-induced crosslinking leads to a significant increase in surface strength, thermal resistance and, consequently, wear resistance in the application in question.
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