The Tribological Properties of Polyimide/Polyamide Imide/Epoxy Coating Filled by WS₂ and ZnO Under Dry, Water, and Sediment Conditions

Abstract

Three types of polyimide/polyamide imide/epoxy resin (PI/PAI/EP) coating materials filled with different amounts of WS₂ and ZnO were designed, and the coatings were prepared on the surface of 1010 steel substrates using liquid spray coating technology. The mechanical and tribological characteristics of these coatings were investigated. The CoFs (coefficients of friction) of these coatings were lower than those of the copper alloy proposed to be replaced under dry sliding wear and water lubrication. The lowest CoF of 0.237 was achieved with 7.35 wt% WS₂, and the highest CoF of 0.251 was observed for 4 wt% ZnO. However, the coating with 7.35 wt% WS₂ had the lowest hardness and poorest load-bearing capacity under water lubrication. The coating with 4 wt % ZnO had the best load-bearing capacity and the lowest wear rate. The agglomeration of the coating on the substrate was influenced by the content of ZnO. The CoF of the coating was influenced by both the transfer film formed by WS₂ and the amount of ZnO floating on the surface of the coating. The embedding of sand into the coating surface during friction increased the surface roughness, which led to an increase in the CoF.

Keywords:

• tribology
• dry sliding wear
• polymer coating
• sediment wear
• water lubrication

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (52005273), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LQ20E050007), the Ningbo Key Research and Development Program (2022Z050, 2023T010, 2023T013), the Yuyao City Science and Technology Project (2023JH03010010), and the Hunan Science and Technology Innovation Project (2022RC4016). This research was also supported by Yongsheng Jin (Ningbo Silver-ball Technology Co.; Ltd.; Ningbo 315207, China), and Jinxing Wu (Hunan Zhuoer Bearing Tech. Co.; Ltd.; Loudi 417000, China).

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.