A Pin-on-Disk Study of the Tribological Properties of Polyoxymethylene (POM) Gear Materials

• Published in: IEEE transactions on instrumentation and measurement Vol. 73; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Authors: Li, Xinmin, Zhang, Runzhi, Hung, Wing San Tony, Olofsson, Ulf, Manuel, Lower, Duan, Chaoqun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 2024; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Adhesion; Coefficient of friction; Contact pressure; Damage mechanism; Friction; friction and wear; Gears; Lubrication; Mechanical properties; Oils; pin-on- disk; Pins; Polymers; polyoxymethylene (POM) gear material; Sliding; Steel; Tribology; Wear mechanisms
• ISSN: 0018-9456; 1557-9662; 1557-9662
• DOI: 10.1109/TIM.2024.3400329

Polyoxymethylene (POM) is now widely used as a gear material due to its excellent mechanical properties. There have been several studies on the tribology of POM; however, most of them focused solely on the material itself without integrating practical applications. This study investigates the tribological properties of POM-POM combinations in conjunction with the application of POM gears. Using a pin-on-disk machine, we simulate the sliding part of gear meshing. The influences of contact pressures (40 and 50 MPa), sliding speed (0.1 and 0.5 m/s), and lubrication on the tribological performance of POM pin sliding against POM disk were studied. The results showed that grease can reduce adhesion between sliding surfaces and effectively improve the tribological performance of the POM-POM combination. The friction coefficient decreases with increasing contact pressure, which is consistent with the existing models of the frictional behavior of polymer-polymer systems. The wear coefficient exhibits contrasting relationships with increasing contact pressure at high and low velocities. Because the wear mechanism changes from predominantly abrasion at low velocity to adhesion-peeling off at high velocity. Both the friction and wear coefficients decrease with increasing sliding velocity. The specific mechanisms of the influence of different lubrication conditions, pressures, velocities, and PV values on friction and wear are described and discussed throughout this article.