The Influence of Carbon Fibre Content on the Tribological Properties of Thermoplastic Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Composites

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was filled with carbon fibres of different content. All filled and unfilled PVDF composites were tested against CGr15 ball and representative testing was performed. The effects of carbon fibre content on tribological properties of the composites were investigated. The incorporation of carbon fibre into PVDF can either increase or reduce friction coefficient and reduce volumetric wear of the materials in sliding against stainless steel under dry sliding condition. The friction and wear properties of the PVDF composites filled with carbon fibre varied with the change of carbon fibre content. Friction coefficients of all the filled PVDF composites and neat PVDF increase with the increased loading and the reciprocating sliding frequency. The volumetric wear for unfilled and all filled PVDF composites increased with increasing applied load, but they exhibited different relationships between volumetric wear and load. The optimum wear resistance property of the composite was obtained when the carbon fibre content is 20 vol%, that means the carbon fibre and PVDF matrix combine well. The adherence and plastic deformation are primary wear mechanisms for the neat PVDF under dry sliding. When incorporated with carbon fibre, the adherence and plastic deformation are greatly reduced, and so the wear resistance is improved.