On the mechanisms of abrasive wear of polyamide fibres

The abrasion resistance of fibres is a basic property in the textile industry since the fibres can be damaged during the manufacturing process. To understand the fundamental mechanisms of abrasion of 40 μm diameter polyamide fibres, a tribometer using a fibre-cylinder contact configuration immersed in water has been developed. This instrumented device controls tribological parameters such as the sliding speed, the environment and the tension applied to the fibre. A reference experimental procedure has been defined in order to run comparative experiments where the former parameters were varied. The number of rod revolutions leading to the fibre rupture has been selected as a macroscopic wear criterion. It is found to be independent of the sliding speed, in the investigated range of velocities. A simple thermal analysis of the sliding contact confirms that the contact heating is limited by the cooling effect of water. Microscope observations of worn fibres reveal abrasive scars and defibrillations on the fibre surface and are used to characterize the wear kinetic. From these observations, it is shown that the abrasive process is responsible for a continuous diminution of the fibre cross-section until the creep failure stress is achieved locally.