Comparative study on fretting friction and wear characteristics of different impregnated graphite for sealing application.

Impregnated graphite has attracted considerable attention and has been widely used as an ideal sealing material in many fields. However, the service environment often contains vibrations, which can easily lead to severe fretting wear and leakage. In this study, the fretting friction and wear properties of resin-impregnated graphite and antimony-impregnated graphite were investigated. The results revealed that only gross slipping regime (GSR) occurred for two impregnated graphite. For resin-impregnated graphite, both abrasive and adhesive wear were discovered. Yet slight fatigue wear occurred on the worn surface of antimony-impregnated graphite at higher cyclic contact stress. The significant properties of the impregnated graphite can be attributed to a transfer film, which uniformly and stably adsorbs on the contact interfaces. This study provides an important basis for matching the industrial applicability of graphite-based modified sealing materials. • The fretting friction and wear characteristics of different impregnated graphite were comparatively investigated. • Only gross slipping regime (GSR) occurred for two impregnated graphite. • Abrasive and adhesive wear were the major mechanisms for resin-impregnated graphite. • Slight fatigue wear occurred on the worn surface of antimony-impregnated graphite at higher cyclic contact stresses. • The significant properties of the impregnated graphite can be attributed to a transfer film on the contact interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]