Device for Measuring Sliding Friction on Highloft Nonwovens

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are all variations of Da Vinci's sled method. However, when measuring the friction of high loft nonwoven fabric batts using these methods, large scale de<strong>for</strong>mation of the fabric occurs and the apparent friction changes with the number of batts or the thickness of the batts, even though the material, the pressure and the normal load are unchanged. This implies that the measured friction includes components due to the de<strong>for</strong>mation of the substrate as well as the sliding friction. The result is an incorrect value <strong>for</strong> the friction. To address the issue of sliding and de<strong>for</strong>mation in the critical area of automobile tires, special test devices have been built, including highly instrumented automobiles with professional drivers. The sliding friction and tire de<strong>for</strong>mation are separated by modeling. 10 In another example, when someone is sitting in an upholstered seat and tries to get up, they both slide across the seat and de<strong>for</strong>m the cushions. Thus the energy required to get out of the seat includes both friction and cushion de<strong>for</strong>mation. However, the engineering solution to manipulate the required energy <strong>for</strong> each component is different and it would be useful to clearly separate these factors so that the seat or tire could be designed rationally <strong>for</strong> each contribution to the energy. This manuscript describes a new friction measuring instrument designed to directly separate the <strong>for</strong>ce required to de<strong>for</strong>m the substrate from the <strong>for</strong>ce required to overcome friction. The concept that led to our design is the same as that used to eliminate the effects of stray electrical fields or edge effects in measuring high impedances in dielectric measurements or bulk conductivity in polymers. In these measurements, an additional electrode surrounds the test electrode, thus screening edge effects. This approach is mimicked in the new, guarded friction sled, where an outer sled de<strong>for</strong>ms the substrate and acts as a conventional sled, while an inner sled – which is the guarded sled – measures only the sliding friction on the already de<strong>for</strong>med substrate. DESCRIPTION OF FRICTOMETER Figure 1 shows a picture of the guarded friction meter. It is made from a single piece of steel, measuring 12 cm x 15 cm x 2.5 cm. The outer, conventional sled, S, is pulled by a tension load transducer (Omegadyne LCFD-50, Sunbury, OH), F c , via cord C. A semicircular section is cut out of the center of this sled to <strong>for</strong>m the guarded sled, G, which is pulled by a compression load transducer (Omegadyne LC8100-250-25), F g , via a screw that passes through F g , through a washer, and through a slot, which allows G to move vertically relative to S. Appropriate spacing between S and G is maintained by an additional washer. Both S and G are made from the same material and are the same thickness so that the pressure is the same under both sleds. Additional weights can be added to alter the loads and the pressures. The shape of the inner sled can be chosen as appropriate <strong>for</strong> the desired test conditions. In our instrument, it is semicircular to avoid snagging on a fibrous substrate. The front edges of both sleds are rounded slightly to avoid digging into soft substrates. A motor (1 rpm, Merkle Korff Industries, Des Plaines, IL) attached to a 10:1 reduction gearbox (Gam Gear, Chicago, IL) pulls the compound sled via a cord at a rate of 5.30 mm/min. The load transducers are read using an A/D card (CIO-DAS801 from Omega Engineering, Inc., Stam<strong>for</strong>d, CT) and the data are collected using LabView (National Instruments, Austin, TX). FIGURE 1. The compound sled that <strong>for</strong>ms the guarded friction meter is shown. The conventional sled, S, is pulled by cord, C, and tension load transducer, T 2 , which measures the <strong>for</strong>ce, F c , required to pull the compound sled. S, in turn, pulls the guarded sled, G, via compression load transducer, T 1 , which measures the <strong>for</strong>ce, F g , required to pull only the guarded sled. The guarded sled floats freely within the conventional sled, restrained only by T 1 . TEST PROCEDURES During a test, the sample is placed on an aluminum block and the back edge is clamped in place. The compound sled is placed on a flat surface and the unloaded readings, R unloaded , <strong>for</strong> the transducers are read. Next, the load cells are calibrated by suspending the compound sled via the towing cord and reading the load cells again to obtain the loaded reading, R loaded . The calibration factor is simply: 2
C = Wsled (3) Rloaded − Runloaded where W sled is the weight of the sled. Finally, the sled is placed on the sample, the cord is wrapped around the motor drive shaft and the motor is started. The transducers are read while pulling the sled, R pull , and the <strong>for</strong>ce, F, required to pull the sled is ( − ) F = C Rpull Runloaded (4) were clamped along the back edge and the friction remeasured. This was repeated <strong>for</strong> a third and a fourth batt, keeping the first batt on top and in contact with the sled. The data is shown in Figure 4. In the second type of test, a polyester knit fabric was placed on the aluminum plate, or on one to four batts, as described above. All of the material was clamped along the back edge and the frictional <strong>for</strong>ce measured. The data are shown in Figure 5. The friction coefficient is determined using equation (1) where N = W. All measurements and calculations are per<strong>for</strong>med within LabView and the friction coefficients are recorded. TEST MATERIALS Several test materials were chosen such that they would not readily de<strong>for</strong>m under the conditions of the test. These included a transparency film (3M type CG3300), a solid aluminum plate that acted as the sample support, a 200 g/m 2 poly(ethylene terephthalate) double knit jersey fabric (TestFabrics, Weston, PA, style # 720), and a 102 g/m 2 plain, bleached cotton woven printcloth with 72 ends/inch x 72 picks/inch (TestFabrics style # 400), as well as miscellaneous materials found in the author's office. With the exception of the aluminum plate, the samples were placed on the aluminum plate and their back edge clamped to the aluminum plate so that the sample could de<strong>for</strong>m, but not slide. The compound sled was placed on the sample. The motor was started and the sled was pulled across the top surface of the sample. (Figure 2) The friction coefficient was graphed as the sled began to move. After reaching a plateau in the friction coefficient, 10-20 readings of the friction coefficient were recorded over the next 2- 3 minutes. The average value of these measurements <strong>for</strong> each sample is shown in Figure 3 <strong>for</strong> both the guarded sled and the conventional sled. TEST PROCEDURE FOR DEFORMABLE SUBSTRATES Multiple Highloft Pet Batts Poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, batts, approximately 1.5 cm thick and having a basis weight of 124 g/m 2 were obtained from a local fabric store. Upon application of 4.14 kPa (0.6 psi) pressure, they compressed about 50% to 7.4± 0.9 mm. Two different types of tests were per<strong>for</strong>med. In the first series, a single batt was placed on an aluminum plate, clamped in place, and the friction measured. Then, a second batt was placed on the aluminum plate and the first batt placed on top of the second batt. Both batts FIGURE 2. Fabric under test (white object) is placed on aluminum support block and its back edge clamped to the aluminum plate. The guarded friction device is placed on the test specimen, the towing cord is attached to the motor drive and the drive started. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Figure 3 shows the friction coefficient <strong>for</strong> various substrates as measured by both the outer sled and the guarded sled. The friction coefficients vary with the substrate, from μ ~ 0.18 <strong>for</strong> a μ 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 Transparency Film Aluminum Plate PET Knit PP Sterilization Wrap FIGURE 3. <strong>Friction</strong> coefficient measured by the guarded, G, sled (solid) and the conventional sled, S, (crosshatched) <strong>for</strong> several non-de<strong>for</strong>mable substrates. TPU nonwoven Gaberdine Wool plain weave Nantucket Twill Mouse Pad 3
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Device for Measuring Sliding Friction on Highloft Nonwovens

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