Influence of hydrogen environment on the tribological performance of polymer composites

In the past few years several projects dealing with the influence of hydrogen on the tribological properties of friction couples were conducted at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing. This paper reports some investigations carried out with polymer composites. The results of tribological experiments with PTFE and PEEK composites against steel are presented here. Friction and wear were measured for continuous sliding and analyses of the worn surfaces were performed after the experiments. Tests were performed at room temperature in hydrogen as well as in LH2. The influence of hydrogen on the material properties was also evaluated by means of heat treatment in hydrogen before the tribological tests. Results indicate a good performance of the selected composites regarding friction and wear resistance. (authors)