Study of tribological properties of sliding surfaces for production and packaging lines

Abstract

During production and packaging of various bulk products, the work surfaces of the equipment and their assemblies interact with sliding bodies, and different types of forces are created between them: friction, normal reactions and Van der Waals forces. When packing sliding bodies of different shapes, their parameters, surface roughness, mass, as well as the amount of static electricity, microclimate parameters in the room have a more significant impact on the movement of sliding bodies and the spreading rate in the packing area of the dosing equipment. When designing dosing equipment, it is important to know the sliding friction coefficients for different contact materials in order to optimally select the parameters of these materials and the sliding surface angle. The aim of the study is to select an appropriate method of experimental research to determine the dependence of the coefficient of sliding friction on sliding bodies on their geometrical parameters, mass and physical properties. The study was performed with the materials used for sliding surfaces: thermoplastic polyvinyl chloride film (PVC); stainless steel AISI 316 plate, (without surface treatment) and polished. The experiment was performed by changing the relative humidity values in the room from 30% to 60%. As a result of the study, it was found that the optimal conditions for the studied materials to slip are at a relative humidity of 30%, the average value of the static friction coefficient is 0.26 and the average value of the sliding friction coefficient is 0.25. The values of the sliding surface roughness significantly affect the static and sliding friction coefficients, the sliding surface with a roughness of 0.100 µm ensures the best slipperiness of the studied sliding bodies.