Dry sliding wear response of some industrial powder coatings

This investigation analyses the sliding wear response of polyester and polyphthalamide powder coatings deposited by electrostatic spraying and ‘hot dipping’ fluidised bed. Tribological tests were conducted under dry conditions in a pin-on-disc arrangement, using a spherical counterpart. The experimental results showed that the deposition technology, the coating material and the thickness of the coating play key roles in determining the wear response of powder coatings. In particular, polyester coatings are deposited by a fluidised bed offer superior wear endurance, along with a low abrasion volume and a low wear rate. Conversely, polyphthalamide coatings are susceptible to faster wear by local cutting and plastic fatigue mechanisms.