ON THE EFFECT OF ROLLER MATERIALS ON THE POWER WINDOW MECHANISM FROM A TRIBOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

摘要

This study serves to delineate the effects of material on the lifespan of a polymeric roller rubbing against a steel wire. Four materials, namely nylon, polyester, borosilicate glass and epoxy are the manipulated variables in conducting a simulation with a steel wire. A block-on-ring machine was used to conduct the tribo-experiments under dry contact condition. In concurrence with average operating conditions, the machine was set to 0.15 m/s sliding velocity, at an applied load of 10 N. Worn surfaces of the polymer were subsequently studied under optical microscopy. Frictional and wear resistance results were presented versus time for a predetermined duration. There is a strong correlation between the wear resistance and material hardness but the contrary is found with elongation at break. Findings revealed better wear resistance in epoxy due to its higher hardness. The improvement attained with reference to nylon was approximately 68%. The optical images of worn surfaces which sustained scratches and groovesimplied that the contact mechanism was that of abrasion.