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Friction and Wear of Polymer Materials at Cryogenic Temperatures

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Polymers at Cryogenic Temperatures

Abstract

Polymers are extensively used for sliding systems in cryogenic applications because of their favourable friction and wear behaviour in the absence of external lubrication. Since important new technologies are based on applications under extreme conditions, such as at low temperatures, new requirements on material properties, in particular regarding their operability and reliability, must be met. Up to now, most tribological investigations have been carried out in inert cryogens or cryogenic gas (He, N2). Few experiments have been performed in vacuum environment at cryogenic temperatures. Rarely were testing in reactive media, such as LH2 or LOX. Due to the wide range of operating conditions in cryogenic applications, it is difficult to state general rules. Therefore, this chapter tends to give an overview on theories and experimental studies on polymer tribology at cryogenic temperatures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, BAM 6.3, Macrotribology and Wear Protection, 12200, Berlin, Germany

    Géraldine Theiler & Thomas Gradt

Authors
  1. Géraldine Theiler
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  2. Thomas Gradt
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Correspondence to Géraldine Theiler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Chemistry, Bahra University, Waknaghat, Himachal Pradesh, 173 229, India

    Susheel Kalia

  2. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemi, Beiyitiao Street 2, Beijing, 100190, China, People's Republic

    Shao-Yun Fu

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Theiler, G., Gradt, T. (2013). Friction and Wear of Polymer Materials at Cryogenic Temperatures. In: Kalia, S., Fu, SY. (eds) Polymers at Cryogenic Temperatures. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35335-2_3

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