Improved tribological performance of Al2O3 fiber at microscale via a WS2-PEG/WPU self-lubricating sizing agent
Ning Wu, Jionglin Zhu, Da An, Li Chen
Abstract
In this work, a new green modified tungsten disulfide (WS 2 -PEG)-waterborne polyurethane (WPU) self-lubricating sizing agent was proposed to improve the tribological properties of microscale alumina fibers (single Al 2 O 3 fiber). The chemical characterization analysis confirmed the successful synthesis of WS 2 -PEG nanosheets with an average particle size of 211 nm, which significantly improved their dispersion in sizing agents. Subsequently, the single Al 2 O 3 fibers were sized (denoted as WS 2 -PEG/WPU@single Al 2 O 3 fibers) and their friction and wear properties were discussed. The experimental results showed that the addition of WS 2 -PEG to the single Al 2 O 3 fiber decreased its friction coefficient (COF) (43.48 %), reduced wear conditions. And the COF and wear of WS 2 -PEG /WPU@single Al 2 O 3 fiber decreased with the increase of normal load. The optimized concentration of WS 2 -PEG nanosheets was 0.05 g/L, which minimized the friction and wear of the fibers and formed a continuous, dense, and high load-carrying lubricating friction film on the fibers, improving the tribological properties of the single Al 2 O 3 fiber.