Tribological properties of glass fibre-reinforced Nylon 66 and quenched ductile iron against Al 2 O 3 counterpart under oilfield water lubrication

Abstract

The friction and wear properties of glass fibre-reinforced polyamide 66 composite, quenched QT600-3 ductile iron were investigated against ceramic Al₂O₃ on the pin-on-disc testing machine under oilfield water-lubricated condition. Optical microscope, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, digital temperature measurement system, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope were used to characterize the microstructure, worn surface, and binding energy of C=O and C–C bonds for the studied materials. The GF/Nylon 66 composite had lower coefficient of friction than the quenched ductile iron, but it exhibited inferior wear resistance to the quenched QT600-3 ductile iron under oilfield water-lubricated condition, which was ascribed to combination of thermal softening, degradation of Nylon matrix, micro-ploughing, and tearing caused by hard Al₂O₃ disc during the wear testing.