THE SLIDING WEAR OF POLYPROPYLENE AND ITS BLENDS

Thermoplastic polymers are light in weight and easily process-able materials hence they are extensively used in auto parts and in several other industries. The materials with the unique combination of good friction and wear properties with the easy processing-ability are in demand. Polypropylene and its blends exhibit excellent mechanical and thermal properties coupled with excellent processability. The sliding wear performance of polypropylene or its blends have been improved significantly by introducing UHMWPE. This chapter gives a review on the sliding wear properties of PP and its blends with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and recycled PET. Mechanism of wear under the sliding wear condition has been explained with the help of wear rates, mechanical properties and worn surfaces. The improved wear performance on loading a small amount of UHMWPE is an interesting feature of these materials. The sliding wear of UHMWPE modified polypropylene and its blends depend primarily upon the composition, sliding conditions, wear mechanism, the coefficient of friction and rise in temperature of interface.