The Effect of Thickness on the Lives of Polystrene Films Subjected to Fretting Conditions

The lives of polystyrene films on a steel substrate while in contact with a reciprocating steel ball were found to be proportional to the wear scar volume when the ball contacted the substrate for thickness below 40 microm. Above 40 microm the lives were much longer than predicted by the proportional relationship. The wear rate varied while the film wore with the rates being higher at the beginning and end of the tests. The wear at the beginning of the test was caused by plastic flow while wear particles generated during most of the test appeared to be the result of a fatigue mechanism.