Abstract: The friction and wear properties of nitrile rubber (NBR) against 316L stainless steel pairs were investigated by using a sphere-on-disc test device. The influence of Al₂O₃ particle sizes and the normal load on the tribological behaviors of the pairs were primarily evaluated. The damage behaviors of worn surfaces were analyzed using a scanning electric microscopy (SEM) and a surface profilometer. The results show that the friction coefficient decreased because of particles coming into contact pairs, while particles also play an important role in increasing the wear loss of stainless steel with many furrows on the steel ball surface due to the ploughing effect of hard particles. Large-sized particles could accelerate the wear of rubber, and the micro-cutting scratches of the stainless steel induced by the Al₂O₃ particles embedded in the rubber matrix. However, as the particle’s size decreased, the wear loss of the rubber was gradually mitigated. It is obvious that the normal load affected the wear of the rubber to a larger extent than the stainless steel. Moreover, with large particles, the wear loss of rubber increased sharply with increasing the normal load. In addition, the NBR/stainless steel tribo-pairs presented different wear mechanisms, under different conditions, such as having no particles or varied particle sizes.

Key words: Nitrile rubber (NBR), Friction and wear, Al₂O₃ particles, Elastomer seal, Tribological properties

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