Three Body Abrasive Wear Behaviour of Polyamide 66/ Polypropylene (PA66/PP) Thermoplastic Blends

Three body abrasive wear behaviour of Polyamide 66 and Polypropylene (PA66/PP) blends in different weight percentages of 95/5, 90/10, 85/15, 80/20, 75/25 and 70/30 are investigated. The experiments were carried out as per ASTM G65 by using rubber wheel abrasion tester (RWAT). The tests were conducted for a load of 50 and 75 N at a sliding velocity of 2.5 m/s with an abrading distance of 500, 1000 and 1500 m using fine abrasive dry sand particles as third body. The experimental results revealed that the wear volume and specific wear rate are the functions of load, abrading distance and composition of blend. It was observed from the experimentation that the lower loading of PP into blend decreases the wear resistance. The effective wear resistance starts from higher loading of PP (30 wt.%) in the blend. The abrasive sand particles and their size played a major role in determining the wear characteristics of PA66/PP blends. Substantiate amount of rubber wheel wear contributes to the development of wear resistance. The worn surfaces are studied by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) photographs.