Wear at Sliding Tube and PTFE in Clutch Systems

The clutch actuating systems evaluated from mechanic to semi-hydraulic and finally to hydraulic. Over this time, it was necessary to improve the projects reducing vibrations and discomfort during clutch actuation. In search of the design improvement, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) polymer, which is an important engineering material and also very popular due to its resistance to chemical attack in a wide variety of solvents and solutions, high melting point and low coefficient of friction when it slides against a hard surface. However, the weakness of PTFE is its poor wear resistance. This present work aims to evaluate the wear between the sliding tube and the PTFE after tests performed in rigs under predefined and controlled conditions, such as, temperature, sliding velocity, amount of actuations, application of dirty solution outside and samples with minimal and maximum clearance.