Abstract
This experimental study investigates the friction and wear of three coatings commonly used in industrial applications, particularly in hydrodynamic bearings. The three materials under investigation were Babbitt, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) reinforced with 15% carbon fibers, and PEEK reinforced with 20% carbon fibers. The first polymer material was extruded, while the other was produced by fused deposition modelling (FDM). The materials were subjected to sliding tests in a pin-on-disc configuration, with a steel ball serving as the counter surface. The tests were conducted at room temperature, with a load of 10 N and under three different lubrication conditions: dry, grease, and oil. The linear speed was set at 0.3 m/s for the dry and semi-solid lubrication tests, while for the oil tests, the speed was set at 0.25 m/s. The greases used had consistency grades of NGLI 000 and NGLI 2. An ISO VG 68 circulation oil was used for the oil lubrication tests. Additionally, thermodynamic analyses were performed under the most severe conditions (i.e., dry) to investigate the steel-Babbitt and steel-PEEK contact.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Palencia M, Otálora A, Espinosa-Duque A. Polymer-metal oxide composites from renewable resources for agricultural and environmental applications. In: Anonymous Renewable Polymers and Polymer-Metal Oxide Composites, Sajjad H and Adnan H, Ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 341–370 (2022)
Koring R. Improved Bearing Alloy-A Contribution Toward Environmental Protection. Texas (US): In Proceedings of the 32nd Turbomachinery Symposium, 2003.
Hedges E S. Tin and its alloys by Ernest S. Hedges, (1960)
Simmons J, Knox R T, Moss W O. The development of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene)-faced hydrodynamic thrust bearings for hydrogenerator application in the United Kingdom. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part J 212: 345–352 (1998)
Glavatskih S B. Evaluating thermal performance of a PTFE-faced tilting pad thrust bearing. J Tribol 125: 319–324 (2003)
Ettles C M, Knox R T, Ferguson J H, Horner D. Test results for PTFE-faced thrust pads, with direct comparison against Babbitt-faced pads and correlation with analysis. J Tribol 125: 814–823 (2003)
Mahieux C A. Experimental characterization of the influence of coating materials on the hydrodynamic behavior of thrust bearings: a comparison of Babbitt, PTFE, and PFA. J Tribol 127: 568–574 (2005)
Zhang Z, Xue Q, Liu W, Shen W. Friction and wear properties of metal powder filled PTFE composites under oil lubricated conditions. Wear 210: 151–156 (1997)
Xue Q, Zhang Z, Liu W, Shen W. Friction and wear characteristics of fiber- and whisker-reinforced PTFE composites under oil lubricated conditions. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 1393–1402 (1998)
Gheisari R, Polycarpou A A. Tribological performance of graphite-filled polyimide and PTFE composites in oil-lubricated three-body abrasive conditions. Wear 436: 203044 (2019)
Zhang G, Wetzel B, Wang Q. Tribological behavior of PEEK-based materials under mixed and boundary lubrication conditions. Tribol Int 88: 153–161 (2015)
Massocchi D, Riboni G, Lecis N, Chatterton S, Pennacchi P. Tribological characterization of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymers produced by additive manufacturing for hydrodynamic bearing application. Lubricants 9: 112 (2021)
Tatsumi G, Ratoi M, Shitara Y, Sakamoto K, Mellor B G. Effect of lubrication on friction and wear properties of PEEK with steel counterparts. Tribology Online 14: 345–352 (2019)
Vásquez-Chacón I A, Gallardo-Hernández E A, Moreno-Ríos M, Vite-Torres M. Influence of surface roughness and contact temperature on the performance of a railway lubricant grease. Mater Lett 285: 129040 (2021)
Sundh J, Olofsson U, Sundvall K. Seizure and wear rate testing of wheel-rail contacts under lubricated conditions using pin-on-disc methodology. Wear 265: 1425–1430 (2008)
Massocchi D, Lattuada M, Chatterton S, Pennacchi P. SRV method: Lubricating oil screening test for FZG. Machines 10: 621 (2022)
McCarthy D, Glavatskih S B. Assessment of polymer composites for hydrodynamic journal-bearing applications. Lubr Sci 21: 331–341 (2009)
Golchin A, Simmons G F, Glavatskih S B. Break-away friction of PTFE materials in lubricated conditions. Tribol Int 48: 54–62 (2012)
Hamrock B J, Dowson D. Isothermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication of point contacts: part III—fully flooded results. Washington (USA): National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1977.
Frache L, Komba E H, Philippon D, Galipaud J, De Barros M I, Douillard T, Masenelli-Varlot K, Bouscharain N, Maheo Y, Sarlin R. Observation of a modified superficial layer on heavily loaded contacts under grease lubrication. Tribol Int 158: 106921 (2021)
Chatterton S, Gheller E, Vania A, Pennacchi P, Dang P V. Investigation of PEEK lined pads for tilting-pad journal bearings. Machines 10: 125 (2022)
Acknowledgements
The present work was undertaken under the support of the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research by means of the project Department of Excellence LIS4.0 (Integrated Laboratory for Lightweight e Smart Structures). We acknowledge Marco Lattuada (Eni SpA) for providing grease data and Davide Scaglia (Eurobearings S.R.L.) for providing disc specimens.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
Additional information
Davide MASSOCCHI. He got bachelor degree in mechanical engineering in 2016 and master degree in energy engineering at Politecnico di Milano in 2019. He is currently doing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in the Rotor Dynamics Group at Politecnico di Milano sponsored by Eni S.p.A. At Eni research center, he has carried out experimental studies using the following tribometers: SRV5, EHD2, MTM2, and FZG test bench. He has performed experimental works in dry and oil-lubricated conditions with ball-on-disc (BoD) at the mechanics department to assess the performance of lubricants and coatings. Vibration analysis for control based maintenance (CBM) predictive maintenance for experimental campaigns for rotating machines, e.g. roller bearings, tilting bearings, and fluid film bearings. Recently, experimental studies were conducted at Imperial College’s Tribology Group under the supervision of Prof. REDDYHOFF and Prof. Daniele DINI.
Nora LECIS. She born in 1968, she is a confirmed researcher in metallurgy at Politecnico di Milano. She obtained a master degree in physics from the University of Milan in 1994 and a Ph.D. degree in metallurgical engineering from the Politecnico di Torino in 1997. She currently collaborates in the research activities carried out by the Department of Mechanics at the Materials for Advanced Applications section, mainly developing topics concerning: (1) Formulation and identification of operating parameters of baths for the electrodeposition of cobalt-based metal alloys for applications in magnetic recording and with good tribological characteristics; (2) study of the solidification of stainless steels, and the laboratory development of an activated sintering method; (3) study and characterisation of surface modifications of metallic materials obtained through thermochemical surface hardening treatments and/or deposition of thin films by vacuum (PVD) or thermal spray coating techniques, in particular the behaviour of components subjected to cyclic stress; and (4) optimisation of shape memory alloys for lightweight high-damping composites. She is secretary of the Coatings Technical Committee of the Italian Metallurgy Association (AIM). Since 2008 she has been in charge of the Mechanical Characterization of Coatings Laboratory of the Department of Mechanics at Politecnico di Milano.
Marco LATTUADA. He graduated with honours from Politecnico di Milano in chemical engineering in 2010 with a thesis on the development of catalytic systems for nitrogen oxides (NOx) aftertreatment to be installed on cars in collaboration with Daimler. He has been with Eni since 2011 in the R&D unit that deals with the development and technical support of petroleum products. During his experience he had the opportunity to build up solid formulation and testing know-how on small/medium scale of lubricating oils, related to different applications (automotive, marine, transmission, industry). He served as Project Manager for life cycle assesment (LCA) studies on biolubricants. He boasts several scientific publications and participations in industry congresses. During his activity, he has developed contacts with manufacturers of vehicles and industrial machinery and companies supplying oil additives, as well as collaborations with Italian and foreign universities. He is currently in charge of Eni’s Tribology laboratory and an active member of European Coordinating European Council (CEC) working groups for some tribological tests.
Davide SCAGLIA. He got a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering at the Politecnico di Milano in 2016, he obtained a master degree in energy engineering (“Power Production” degree course) in 2019. He is now the head of the Engineering Department of Eurobearings, a company that designs and manufactures hydrodynamic bearings for rotating machines (turbines, compressors, and generators). He is responsible for the mechanical design of the product as well as the research and development of anti-friction materials.
Steven CHATTERTON. He graduated with honors in mechanical engineering from the Politecnico di Milano in 2002. From 2002 to 2008, he held a research grant at the Politecnico di Milano concerning design methodologies for mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic drives for the manufacturing industry. In 2008 he won the researcher competition for the scientific disciplinary field ING-IND/13. In the period following graduation, he conducted research on the kinematics and dynamics of parallel kinematic robots, developing kinematic synthesis, and optimization methods. In this area, he supervised the implementation of a prototype of parallel robots with 3 and 5 degrees of freedom in space with electric motor. In 2005, he began research into the control of the interaction force of manipulators with real and virtual environments, overseeing the design of an innovative redundant haptic interface with hybrid serial-parallel coupling. Research activities in the field of mechatronics and robotics have also involved collaboration with external companies for the design of automatic machines and the optimisation of articulated and cam mechanisms with high dynamic performance. Since 2009, he has been a member of the Rotor Dynamics Research Group of the Department of Mechanics. One line of research concerns the implementation of regression techniques for unbalance estimation in turbine rotors for power generation. In the field of gas and steam turbines, it deals with the analysis of dynamic phenomena typical of these machines such as tilting-pad bearing instability and vane snubbing phenomena. Another area of research concerns the torsional analysis of industrial compressors and the simulation of related vibration phenomena under unconventional operating conditions. In the field of mechanical transmissions, he was involved in the development of a high-speed train traction system test bench for diagnosing rolling bearing damage.
Paolo PENNACCHI. He graduated from the Politecnico di Milano in 1993 and was awarded a Ph.D. degree in applied mechanics in 1997. He attended specialized courses on “Kinematics and Dynamics of Multi-Body Mechanical Systems” in 1994 at International Centre for Mechanical Sciences (CISM) in Udine, on “Reliability Engineering and Software” in 1999, again at CISM in Udine, and on “Elements of Non-Linear Dynamics: Stability, Bifurcations and Chaos” in 2001 at Fondazione ENI Enrico Mattei and organised by Società Italiana Caos e Complessità (SICC). Since January 1999, he has been the recipient of a research grant for the research programme entitled “Vibration of Mechanical Systems (Diagnostics)” at the Department of Mechanics, Politecnico di Milano. On 1 September 2000, he took up his post as a researcher at the Department of Mechanics of the Politecnico di Milano. In September 2003, he was called as associate professor at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano. Author of around 120 scientific publications and responsible for several research projects/contracts, his most recent research activity is in the field of rotor dynamics and identification and diagnostics. In recent years, he has also been involved in the study of dynamic loads during the operation of rotary positive displacement machines, noise control, the control of vibrating systems, biomechanics (in particular the biomechanical analysis of pedalling and the determination of mechanical parameters relating to the passenger of a vehicle), and the design of positive displacement machines such as diaphragm pumps, epitrochoidal lobe pumps, gear pumps, internal lobe pumps and screw pumps and compressors. He has also been involved in kinematics studies relating to the theory of conjugate profiles and the design of form tools for cutting particular three-dimensional profiles.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Massocchi, D., Lecis, N., Lattuada, M. et al. Friction and wear performance of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymers in three lubrication regimes. Friction 12, 670–682 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0780-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0780-4