Friction and Wear Mechanisms of Polyamide 66/High

Density Polyethylene Blends

ZHAOBIN CHEN,* TONGSHENG LI, XUJUN LIU, RENGUO LU
Department of Macromolecular Science, Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers MEC, Fudan University,
Shanghai, 200433, China

Received 21 September 2004; revised 10 June 2005; accepted 22 June 2005

DOI: 10.1002/polb.20548
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).

ABSTRACT: Polyamide 66 (PA66)/high density polyethylene (HDPE) blends having

miscible structure were produced by compatibilization of HDPE grafted with maleic
anhydride (HDPE-g-MAH). Mechanical and tribological properties of blends in differ-
ent compositions were tested. It was found that the polymer blends greatly improved
the mechanical properties of PA66 and HDPE. Blending HDPE with PA66 signi-
cantly decreased the friction coefcient of PA66; the friction coefcients of blends
with different compositions were almost the same and approximately equal to that of
pure HDPE; the blends with 80 vol % PA66 exhibited the best wear resistance. The
transfer lms, counterpart surfaces, and wear debris formed during sliding were
investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Differential Scanning
Calorimetry (DSC) analysis was further carried out on wear debris. These investiga-
tions indicated that the thermal control of friction model is applicable to PA66/HDPE
blend, that is the friction coefcient of blend is governed by the HDPE component,
which possesses a lower softening point relative to the PA66 component in this sys-
tem. The wear mechanism of PA66/HDPE blend transforms from PA66 to HDPE as
the HDPE content increases. PA66, as the component with higher softening point,
increases the hardness of blend, enhances the ability of blend to form a transfer lm
on the counterface, and inhibits the formation of larger belt-like debris of HDPE, at
the same time, the presence of self-lubricating HDPE in the system decreases the
friction coefcient and the frictional heat, all of these factors are favorable for the
wear resistance of PA66/HDPE blend. V C 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B:

Polym Phys 43: 25142523, 2005

Keywords: polymer blend; compatibilization; differential scanning calorimetry
(DSC); debris; thermal control of friction; wear

INTRODUCTION and its stronger ability to absorb water, and

Polyethylene (PE) and Polyamide (PA) are large-
volume, commercial, general and engineering
plastics, respectively. However, some adverse
effects, for example, PAs low impact strength
Present address: Department of Human Ecology, The Uni-
versity of Texas at Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Correspondence to: T. S. Li (E-mail: lits@fudan.edu.cn)
Journal of Polymer Science: Part B: Polymer Physics, Vol. 43, 25142523 (2005)
V
C 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
2514
PEs lower strength, limit their practical appli-
cations. Blending PA with PE can improve these
adverse effects.1 Nevertheless, PE has no ther-
modynamic miscibility with PA because it is a
nonpolar polymer, while PA is a strong polar
polymer. To obtain satisfying modication effect,
one of the successful methods is to introduce
acid anhydride or carboxyl into the blend system
by grafting them onto the PEs molecular chains,
which can improve the miscibility between the
PA and PE phases. The effect of phase morphol-
 FRICTION AND WEAR MECHANISMS OF PA66/HDPE BLENDS
ogy and compatibilizer content on the mechani-
cal and rheological properties of PA/PE blends
has been reported by many workers.26
The uses of HDPE and PA66 are very com-
mon in situations where polymers slide against
metals. The tribological behaviors of PA66,
HDPE, and their composites sliding against
metals have been reported in earlier papers.710
It was found that PA66 has a superior wear
resistance compared with other polymers, and
its friction coefcient is affected greatly by nor-
mal load, sliding speed, and temperature. HDPE
exhibits low friction and wear under mild condi-
tions, but wear rate is much higher under
severe sliding conditions. PA66 forms a lumpy, dried at 100 8C for 24 h before compounding.
relatively thick, 0.11.0 lm lm, in the case of
HDPE, however, the thickness of the transfer
lm is much less, about 1050 nm. This behav-
ior is signicantly different from PA66. Although
the polymer blends are widely used in practical
applications, the studies on their tribological
properties are very limited.1119
In previous studies, we reported the mechani-
cal and tribological properties of the PA66/poly-
phenylene sulde (PPS) blend,20 and the effect
of phase structure on the tribological properties
of PA66/HDPE blend.21 The results showed that
the thermal control of friction model is applica-
ble to PA66/PPS blend, and the PA66/HDPE
blend having miscibility structure exhibits the
best tribological properties. Based on these
results, it is expected that the thermal control of
friction model should also be applicable to the
PA66 blends with other polymers. Therefore, in
this work, we chose HDPE possessing lower
melting (softening) point as the polymer blended
with PA66 and tested the mechanical properties
of PA66/HDPE blends having miscible structure
by compatibilization of HDPE-g-MAH, at the
same time, we emphasized the friction and wear
of the polymer blends in different compositions.
The friction and wear mechanisms are discussed
in terms of the structure, transfer lm, and
wear debris through SEM and DSC analysis.
EXPERIMENTAL
Materials
PA66 pellets (Zytel 101L NC010, melting point:
265 8C) were purchased from Du Pont Co. Ltd.
(Wilmington, DE). HDPE pellets (ETILINAS,
melting point: 132 8C) were supplied by Sinopec
2515
Shanghai Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (Shanghai,
China). High density polyethylene grafted with
maleic anhydride (HDPE-g-MAH, CMG 9804)
used as compatibilizer was produced by Shanghai
SUNNY New Tech. Dev. Co. Ltd. (Shanghai, China).
Sample Preparation
PA66/HDPE blends were prepared in the volume
ratios of 100/0, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, 40/60, 20/80,
and 0/100, using a HAAKE PTW 16/25D corotat-
ing twin-screw extruder. Based on ref. 20,
different contents of HDPE-g-MAH were added
to obtain miscible structure. PA66 pellets were
The temperatures from the feed zone to the
die of the extruder were kept at 240, 270, 280,
280, and 260 8C respectively. The screw speed
was set at 70 rpm. The specimens for mec-
hanical and tribological tests were injection
molded from the pelletized blended materials
using reciprocating screw injection-molding
machine equipped with a standard test mold.
The temperatures maintained in the two zones
of the barrel were 280 and 300 8C, and in the
mold, 25 8C.
Mechanical Tests
The tests of tensile strength, impact strength,
and Rockwell hardness (HRR) were carried out
according to GB/T 16421-1996, GB/T 16420-
1996, and GB/T 16420-1996 standard test meth-
ods, respectively. Corresponding equipments
used were Universal Electromechanical Testing
Machine (5567, INSTRON), XJJ-5 Impact Test-
ing Machine (Chinese), and Wilson1 Hardness
Tester (Series 2000, INSTRON).
Friction and Wear Tests
The friction and wear tests were conducted on
an M-200 friction and wear tester according to
GB 3960-83 standard test method. The contact
scheme of the frictional pairs is shown in Figure 1.
A carbon structure steel ring (No.45, GB 699-88)
of 40 mm outer diameter was used as the coun-
terpart. The polymer specimen blocks were 6

7
30 (mm3). Before each test, the surfaces
were polished with metallographic abrasive
papers to Ra 0.170.23 lm for the specimens and
Ra 0.090.11 lm for the couterpart. Then the
blocks and the rings were cleaned ultrasonically
in acetone and thoroughly dried. Sliding was per-
formed under ambient conditions (temperature:
2516 CHEN ET AL.
Figure 1. Contact scheme of the frictional pairs
(unit: mm).
20 6 3 8C, humidity: 50 6 10%) at a speed of
0.42 m/s and a normal load of 196 N. The test
duration ranged from 0 to 130 min and the value
of friction force torque was noted after 10 min
and later at intervals of 20 min. The transient
friction coefcient was calculated from the friction
force torque. The average value of transient fric-
tion coefcient in the steady state (after 40 min)
was used as the friction coefcient of the sample.
At the end of each test, the width of the wear
scar was measured with a measuring microscope,
and the wear volume V of the specimen was cal-
culated from the following formula:22
"
 r# The acid anhydride groups in HDPE-g-MAH,
pr2 b b b2
VB arcsin  r2 
180 2r 2 4
where V is the wear volume (mm3); B, the width
of the specimen (mm); r, the radius of the steel
ring (mm); and b, the width of the wear scar
(mm). In this work, three replicates of friction
and wear tests were carried out.
Figure 2. SEM micrographs of 70 vol % PA66/30 vol % HDPE blend before and
after compatibilization.21 (a) 70 vol % PA66/30 vol % HDPE without HDPE-g-MAH
and (b) 70 vol % PA66/30 vol % HDPE with HDPE-g-MAH.
Characterization
Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
DSC (NETZSCH DSC 204) was used for thermal
analysis of polymers, PA66/HDPE blends, and
their wear debris. Samples were placed in alu-
minum pans with pierced lids. The tests were
conducted under nitrogen atmosphere at heating
rate of 10 K/min.
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
The phase morphologies of PA66/HDPE blends,
the transfer lms, and the wear debris formed
during sliding were observed using a JSM-
5600LV SEM. The blends were fractured in
liquid nitrogen, and then were sputter-coated
with a thin layer of goldpalladium alloy prior
to SEM examination.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Phase Morphology
Since there is no thermodynamic miscibility
between PA66 and HDPE because of the differ-
ent internal structure, the use of compatibilizer
is necessary for preparing PA66/HDPE blends.
which is used as reactive compatibilizer, are
expected to react readily with the amine end
groups of the polyamide.
Figure 2 shows the phase morphologies of 70
vol % PA66/30 vol % HDPE blend before and
after compatibilization. From Figure 2a it can
be seen that the discrete HDPE particles with
an average size of above 10 lm are dispersed in
 FRICTION AND WEAR MECHANISMS OF PA66/HDPE BLENDS 2517

Figure 3. Mechanical properties of PA66/HDPE blends. (a) Tensile strength, (b)

Impact strength, and (c) Rockwell hardness.

continuous PA66 phase before the addition of Mechanical Properties

compatibilizer. A clear interface can be observed
The mechanical properties of PA66/HDPE
between the HDPE and PA66 phases. During
blends in different compositions are presented
the fracture process in liquid nitrogen, some
in Figure 3. From this gure it can be seen that,
HDPE particles have been pulled away from
as the PA66 content increases, the monotonic
their original positions, which remain as empty
increase is taken on for the tensile strength
holes. These indicate that the adhesion between
(Fig. 3a), while the HRR reaches the steady
the PA66 and HDPE phases is very weak
value (about 110) after PA66 content exceeds 60
because of their thermodynamic immiscibility.
vol % (Fig. 3c). When PA66 content is less or
Introduction of appropriate content of HDPE-
more, the impact strength of blend is lower, the
g-MAH into the PA66/HDPE blend greatly
best impact strength is obtained for the 70 vol %
improves the phase structure (Fig. 2b). It is dif-
PA66/30 vol % HDPE blend (Fig. 3b). In other
cult to distinguish continuous and dispersed
words, the blend with 70 vol % PA66 has the
phases, and the separate domains can hardly be
best mechanical properties.
found at the magnication used. That is to say,
HDPE-g-MAH as the reactive compatibilizer
reacts with the amine end groups in PA66 and
Friction and Wear
locates itself at the interface between the
PA66 and HDPE phases, which reduces the The curves showing the variation of transient
interfacial tension and thereby provides a satis- friction coefcient with sliding time for PA66/
fying adhesion. HDPE blends are given in Figure 4. This gure
The same results are obtained for the other shows that the friction coefcient of pure PA66
PA66/HDPE blends in different compositions is much higher than that of pure HDPE and
with various amount of HDPE-g-MAH. PA66/HDPE blends at any time. For pure PA66,
2518 CHEN ET AL.
Figure 4. Variation of transient friction coefcient
with sliding time for PA66/HDPE blends.
the transient friction coefcient rapidly increases
in the initial stage of sliding, then decreases and
reaches a steady value after 40 min. In the case
of pure HDPE, however, the curve does not
exhibit a decreasing period, the friction coefcient
gradually increases throughout the running-in
operation and then comes into the steady stage.
Moreover, it can also be seen that the variation
tendency of transient friction coefcient for PA66/
HDPE blends is closely related with their compo-
sitions, that is the higher the HDPE content in
the system, the more similar tendency to pure
HDPE appears.
The average friction coefcients and wear vol-
umes of PA66/HDPE blends with different com-
positions are presented in Figure 5. The num-
bers above the bars represent the values of aver-
age friction coefcient and wear volume. From
this gure, it is can be seen that the friction
coefcient and wear volume of pure PA66 (0.67,
6.71 mm3) are much higher than that of pure
HDPE (0.19, 2.04 mm3) and PA66/HDPE blends.
The wear volumes of blends gradually decrease
as the PA66 content increases, and the lowest
wear volume is obtained for the blend with 80
vol % PA66 (0.95 mm3). In addition, all blends
exhibit nearly the same friction coefcient
(about 0.20), which is independent of the compo-
sitions and approximately equal to that of pure
HDPE, similar results are obtained for the
PA66/PPS blend in our previous studies.20
Analysis
In polymer tribology, it is now fully recognized
that the friction and wear behavior of a polymer
sliding against a metal counterpart is strongly
inuenced by its ability to form a transfer lm
on the counterface and the property of worn sur-
face. In addition, an investigation on the wear
debris is one of the powerful methods for study-
ing friction and wear mechanisms in polymer
tribology.2325 Therefore, the counterface (trans-
fer lm), worn surface and wear debris formed
by samples were observed using SEM, and the
wear debris were further examined with DSC to
understand the physical changes of PA66/HDPE
blends during sliding.
Counterface and Worn Surface
In earlier paper, we reported the tribological
properties of PA66, HDPE, and 70 vol % PA66/
30 vol % HDPE blend.21 For the convenience of
discussion, the experimental results and analy-
sis are briey reviewed here.
When sliding against a carbon structure steel
ring, pure PA66 forms a nonuniform and discon-
tinuous belt-like transfer lm on the counter-
face, the tribochemical reaction occurring during
sliding enhances the adhesion between the lm
and the substrate, its relatively higher friction
coefcient and wear volume result from the
strong plowing action and the melting phenom-
enon during sliding process, respectively. Differ-
ently, pure HDPE has no ability to form a trans-
fer lm on the steel counterface and the melting
phenomenon does not occur under the same con-
ditions and conguration used, moreover, the
plowing action of the asperities on the counter-
face against sample surface also exists. How-
ever, HDPE belongs to the category of ductile
Figure 5. Friction coefcients and wear volumes of
PA66/HDPE blends in different compositions.
 FRICTION AND WEAR MECHANISMS OF PA66/HDPE BLENDS 2519

Figure 6. SEM micrographs of counterface and worn surface formed by 70 vol %

PA66/30 vol % HDPE blend during sliding. Arrow indicates sliding direction.21 (a)
Counterface and (b) Worn surface.

polymers and it possesses smooth molecular
prole and self-lubricating property, so the
resistance to the plowing action is smaller and
the friction coefcient and the wear volume are
lower. In the case of 70 vol % PA66/30 vol %
HDPE blend, a nonuniform and discontinuous
patchy transfer lm is formed, although its
adhesion to the substrate is weak because this
lm layer is removed after cleaning the steel
ring ultrasonically in acetone. At the same time,
the SEM micrograph of the worn surface shows
that there is no melting phenomenon during
sliding and some shallow furrows exist on the
smoother surface. For comparison with other
PA66/HDPE blends, in this work, the SEM
micrographs of the transfer lm and worn sur-
face formed by 70 vol % PA66/30 vol % HDPE
blend are given in Figure 6.
Figure 7 gives the SEM micrographs of sur-
face analysis of the 20 vol % PA66/80 vol %
HDPE blend. Figure 7a shows that when HDPE
is the predominant component in system, PA66/
HDPE blend, like pure HDPE, has no ability to
form a transfer lm on the counterface. Com-
bined with Figure 6a and the tribological prop-
erties of pure PA66 and HDPE, it can be
inferred that the PA66 component enhances the
ability of PA66/HDPE blends to form a transfer
lm. That is to say, the component having stron-
ger ability to form transfer lm facilitates poly-
mer blend to transfer to the counterface. This is
consistent with our studies on the tribological
properties of PA66/PPS blend.20
Figure 7b shows that the SEM micrograph of
worn surface for the 20 vol % PA66/80 vol %
HDPE blend, like pure HDPE, displays a sev-
eral deeper furrows parallel to the sliding direc-
tion and indicates the stronger plowing action
during sliding (Fig. 7b). Compared with this, the
worn surface of the blend with 70 vol % PA66 is
smoother and the furrows are shallow and inap-
parent (Fig. 6b), which indicates the weaker

Figure 7. SEM micrographs of counterface and worn surface formed by 20 vol %

PA66/80 vol % HDPE blend. Arrow indicates sliding direction. (a) Counterface and
(b) Worn surface.
2520 CHEN ET AL.
Figure 8. The morphologies of debris formed by HDPE, PA66/HDPE blends, and
PA66. (a) HDPE, (b) 20 vol % PA66/80 vol % HDPE, (c) 80 vol % PA66/20 vol %
HDPE, and (d) PA66.20
plowing action. In other words, the increase in
hardness of PA66/HDPE blend with PA66 com-
ponent increases resistance to the plowing action
of the asperities. In addition, the worn surface
reveals that no melting phenomenon occurs dur-
ing sliding.
From the above observations, it can be seen
that the PA66 component in the system not only
improves the ability of blend to form a transfer
lm but also increases its resistance to the plow-
ing action, these two factors are favorable for
the wear properties of PA66/HDPE blend.
Wear Debris
The SEM photographs of wear debris formed by
HDPE, PA66/HDPE blends, and PA66 are shown
in Figure 8, among them, Figure 8d (the wear
debris of PA66) is quoted from ref. 20.
Figure 8a shows that HDPE forms thin, belt-
like wear debris along the sliding direction dur-
ing friction process. In the case of PA66, as
shown in Figure 8d and mentioned previ-
ously,20,21 roll-like debris are formed and some
of them show the melting traces, which result
from higher friction coefcient and subsequent
accumulation of a large amount of frictional
heat. From Figures 8b and 8c it can be seen that
no melting phenomenon occurs with both blends
in different compositions, which is consistent
with the analysis of corresponding worn sur-
faces. This indicates that the HPDE component,
which acts as a lubricant, reduces the friction
coefcient of blend and prevents PA66 from
melting. On the other hand, from these two g-
ures it can be found that the shapes of wear
debris are closely related with the HDPE con-
tent in system: not very apparent belt-like struc-
ture is observed for the blend with higher HDPE
content (80 vol %), while for the blend with
lower HDPE content (20 vol %), it forms irregu-
lar thin fragments (less than 50 lm) during slid-
ing. That is to say, as the PA66 component in
the system increases, the size of the wear debris
of blends becomes smaller. The presence of the
PA66 component with higher softening point
inhibits the formation of the belt-like wear
debris of HDPE. These two factors greatly affect
the wear properties of PA66/HDPE blend.
 FRICTION AND WEAR MECHANISMS OF PA66/HDPE BLENDS
Figure 9. DSC curves of the blends containing
40 vol % and 60 vol % HDPE and their wear debris.
The DSC curves of wear debris formed by
blends with 40 and 60 vol % HDPE during slid-
ing are given in Figure 9, the thermal analysis
results of untested samples are inserted for com-
parison. It can be seen that PA66/HDPE blends
show two melting peaks at 132 and 265 8C,
which correspond with the melting points of
HDPE and PA66, respectively. The reason is
that the blends do not reach miscibility on a
molecular scale although HDPE-g-MAH as com-
patibilizer improves the compatibility between
the PA66 and HDPE phases. After sliding, these
melting peaks still exist and no changes are
observed with the peak positions in the DSC
curves of wear debris related to those before
sliding. This phenomenon is different from
PA66/PPS blend reported in our earlier paper,20
for which both PA66 and PPS components in
wear debris do not show the melting peaks
because of the transform of polymers from the
crystalline into the amorphous state resulted
from frictional heat, friction shear force, and tri-
bochemical reactions during sliding.
Corresponding enthalpies of the PA66 and
HDPE components in the blends and wear
Table 1. Enthalpies (DH, J/g) of PA66 and HDPE Components in the Blends with 40 vol % and 60 vol % HDPE
and Their Wear Debris
40 vol % PA66/60 vol % HDPE
PA66 HDPE
Original blends 26.7 84.0
Wear debris 33.2 103
2521
debris as calculated from Figure 9 are listed in
Table 1. From the data in this table, it can be
seen that the enthalpies of PA66 component
nearly do not change before and after sliding,
while they increase to some extent for HDPE
component after sliding. Related with the SEM
micrographs of wear debris, we believe that the
HDPE component in PA66/HDPE blend is
oriented along the sliding direction under the
frictional heat and shear force during friction
process.
Discussion
From the above investigations, it can be con-
cluded that the wear mechanism of PA66/HDPE
blend is related with its composition, that is as
the PA66 component increases, the wear behav-
ior of blend gradually changes from HDPE to
PA66. From the mechanical aspect, the higher
the PA66 content, the higher the hardness of
the blend, and the stronger resistance to the
plowing action of the asperities on the counter-
face against sample surface during sliding. From
the aspect of the interfacial wear mechanism,10
the ability of PA66/HDPE blend to form a trans-
fer lm on the counterface grows up with the
increase of PA66 content, the formation of trans-
fer lm prevents the direct contact between
sample and the counterface. From the aspect of
wear debris, the presence of PA66 in system
inhibits the formation of larger wear debris of
HDPE, which changes from belt-like to fragmen-
tal structure. These factors lead to the gradual
decrease of the wear volumes of PA66/HDPE
blends as the PA66 content increases, and the
best wear resistance is obtained with the blend
with 80 vol % PA66 (0.95 mm3). In addition, the
HDPE component as a lubricant dramatically
decreases the friction coefcient of blend and
further decreases the production of frictional
heat, which avoids the occurrence of melting
60 vol % PA66/40 vol % HDPE
PA66 HDPE
35.8 53.5
30.0 114
2522 CHEN ET AL.
phenomenon and result in the lower wear vol-
umes of PA66/HDPE blends than that of PA66.
Similar with the PA66/PPS blend, the same
frictional property is obtained with the PA66/
HDPE blend, that is the friction coefcients of
blends are independent of their compositions,
they are almost the same and approximately
equal to that of HDPE, which is the component
with lower softening point, but less than that of
PA66. We speculate that this can be explained
by a thermal control of friction model.26,27 From
the SEM and DSC analysis of wear debris, it is
known that HDPE forms the belt-like wear
debris along the sliding direction and the
enthalpies of the HDPE component increase
after sliding. This indicates that some extent of
orientation takes place for HDPE during sliding,
while this process does not happen to the PA66
component under the same conditions because
its enthalpies nearly do not change before and
after sliding. At the same time, the SEM analy-
sis of the worn surfaces and wear debris shows
that neither HDPE nor PA66/HDPE blends melt
during sliding. Therefore, it can be concluded
that the HDPE component in blend is softened
under the action of the frictional heat, then the
softened HDPE is oriented along the sliding
direction under the friction shear force. Accord-
ing to the thermal control of friction model,26,27
frictional heat is not easily conducted from the
interface because the low thermal conductivity
of polymers. When sliding conditions are quite
severe, a limiting condition will occur, beyond
which frictional heating is actually the domi-
nant factor. That is to say, when the melting
(softening) temperature of the polymer is
reached during sliding, the friction coefcient
varies with sliding speed or load so that the
temperature within the contact remains con-
stant at the melting (softening) point. As for
PA66/HDPE blend used in this work, the soften-
ing point of HDPE is lower than that of PA66,
so the softening point of HDPE is rst reached
and at that point the HDPE component in blend
begins to soften. Softened HDPE forms a low-
shear-strength interfacial layer at the sliding
surface, which behaves as a lubricant. For
HDPE and PA66/HDPE blends, the friction coef-
cients are governed by the shear strength of
this interfacial layer. The shear strength of the
softened HDPE component is equivalent to that
of pure HDPE, therefore, the friction coefcients
of PA66/HDPE blends are nearly the same and
approximately equal to that of pure HDPE. In a
word, the thermal control of friction model is
applicable to the PA66/HDPE blend.
From the studies on tribological properties of
PA66 blends with different polymers (PPS with
higher melting or softening point and HDPE
with lower melting or softening point), it can be
concluded that the thermal control of friction
model is applicable to the PA66 blends, that is
the friction coefcients of blends are governed
by the component with lower melting (softening)
point in system, while the wear properties are
mainly affected by the component with higher
melting (softening) point through different ways
(mechanical properties, ability to form transfer
lm, and the formation of wear debris etc.).
These studies provide the possibility of predict-
ing the tribological properties of polymer blends.
Based on this, it may be possible to produce the
polymer blends with superior friction and wear
properties.
CONCLUSIONS
1. PA66/HDPE blend having miscible struc-
ture improves the mechanical properties of PA66
and HDPE, the best properties are obtained
with the 70 vol % PA66/ 30 vol % HDPE blend.
2. The friction coefcients of PA66/HDPE
blends are independent of their compositions,
that is the friction coefcients are almost the
same for all blends and approximately equal to
that of pure HDPE, but much less than that of
pure PA66; the blend with 80 vol % PA66 has
the lowest wear volume.
3. The wear mechanism of PA66/HDPE blend
transforms from HDPE to PA66 as PA66 content
increases in system. The HDPE and PA66 com-
ponents affect the wear properties of blends
through different ways: HDPE decreases the
friction coefcient of the blend; PA66 increases
the hardness, enhances the ability of the blend
to form a transfer lm on the counterface and
inhibits the formation of the larger belt-like
wear debris of HDPE.
4. The thermal control of friction model is
applicable to the PA66/HDPE blend, that is the
friction coefcient of blend is governed by the
HDPE component, which possesses a lower soft-
ening point in blend system.
The authors acknowledge the nancial support pro-
vided by The Key Scientic and Technological Project
(Contract No. 0204) from the Ministry of Education
P. R. China. The tests and characterizations were con-
 FRICTION AND WEAR MECHANISMS OF PA66/HDPE BLENDS
ducted at Shanghai R&D Center for Polymer Materi-
als. The authors are extremely grateful to the Plastic
Division of Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company
Limited for supplying the free material HDPE.
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