Effects of Weaves on the Tribological Properties of Hybrid Kevlar/PTFE Fabric Composites
Three weaves (plain, twill 1/3 and satin 8/3) of hybrid kevlar/PTFE fabric composites were selected for investigating the influence of weaves on the tribological properties. Pin-on-flat linear reciprocating wear studies were done on the three kinds of composites on a CETR Tester under pressure 20 MPa and frequency 13 Hz. The relationship between the tensile strength and the tribolog- ical performance of fabric composites was also examined. It was observed that though the friction coefficient of satin 8/3 was the lowest, the specific wear rate was also the highest. Plain weave, however, performed worse in friction-reduction while resulting best in antiwear performance. The tensile strength does not have an influence on the wear performance. So the different tribological performance of the three weaves of fabric composites may attribute to the different PTFE proportion in the fabric surface and adhesive wear. A model of wear process of fabric composites was proposed and supported by the Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) studies.