Research on the response mechanism of load for the three-phase coupling of reinforcing phase, lubricating phase and polymeric matrix

Three-phase coupled composites were manufactured to holistically evaluate their load-response mechanisms. Tribological properties in ball-on-disk tests were correlated with GF content and different applied loads. Tribological properties of embedded semirings were better than polymer semirings in semiring tests, resulting in the decrease of COF by 44 %, and the reduction in wear depth by 98.8 %. Embedded semiring with the inclusion of 3 wt% GF possessed remarkable tribological properties, as evidenced by COF of 0.071 and wear rate of 22.7 × 10 −4 mm/h. Stress and strain distributions, as well as associated coupling mechanism among all three phases are revealed with the aid of FEA and MD simulation. Overall, this study offers a fundamental theoretical of polymer composites for self-lubricating bearings applications.