Applied Composite Materials (2005) 12: 369–383 © Springer 2005 DOI: 10.1007/s10443-005-5824-6 Effect of Short Fibre Reinforcement on the Friction and Wear Behaviour of Nylon 66 G. SRINATH and R. GNANAMOORTHY Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600 036, India. e-mail: [email protected] (Received 18 August 2004; accepted 12 April 2005) Abstract. Use of thermo plast ic compo site material for load bearing component s is increasin g due to economical processi ng of compl icated shapes in large quantit ies. Addition of fibre improv es the strength and modulus of composites. Although the tribo-behaviour of thermoplastic composites were investigated, the friction and wear mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Friction and wear be- haviour of injection unfilled Nylon 66, glass fibre reinforced Nylon 66 and carbon fibre reinforced Nylon 66 is investigated under dry sliding conditions. Tests were conducted at different normal loads and sliding velocities at room temperature. Coefficient of friction, wear loss and heat generation during the wear tests were quantified. Presence of fibre affects coefficient of friction and wear re- sistance of Nylon 66 matrix composites. The formation and stability of the transfer films affects the wear resistan ce. The rise in temper ature during sliding was also calcul ated and also measured . The contact temperature rise is influenced by the composition which in turn influences the fibre adhesion and thereby the wear resistance. Glass fibre reinforced Nylon exhibited the lowest wear rate among the materials investigated. Both adhesive and abrasive wear mechanisms were observed in polymer matrix composites. Key words: friction, wear, polymer matrix, glass and carbon fibre. 1. Intr oduct ion Thermo plasti cs have repla ced metals in many light duty load bearing applicatio ns because of their lightweight, economic fabrication and good chemical resistance. Polymers exhibit low coefficient of friction compared with metals due to their low interfacial adhesion energy [1]. The mechanical strength, modulus and wear resistance of polymers largely determine the suitability of these materials for ap- plications like gears, bearings, cams, etc., [2]. Furthermore polymer gears and bearings can accommodate shock loading, shaft misalignment and bending bet- ter than metal parts. Polyamides and polyacetals are widely used thermoplastic polymer s for structural applications. Friction and wear behaviou r of unreinf orced Nylon is widely reported in literature [1–5]. The friction behaviour of commercial polymer based bearing materials were studied using by sliding against steel sur- face [2]. It was reported that the friction and wear behaviour of Nylon was fairly Corresponding author.