Contact mechanics of polyolefins: effect of pre-stretch on the frictional response and the onset of wear

Abstract

As a result of processing history, polymer products are, more often than not, anisotropic. In this work, single-asperity sliding friction experiments are used to characterize the tribology of semi-crystalline polymer films. We show the improved scratch resistance of oriented isotactic polypropylene and comment on the paradoxical results obtained for high-density polyethylene