INJECTION MOLDED GLASS FIBER REINFORCED POLYPHENYLENE SULFIDE COMPOSITE WEAR IN SIMULATED FUEL CONDITIONS

The required lowering of CO2 emission results in increased loading of a fuel system components and thus materials, which require adaptation to the changed working conditions. The hypothesis was that glass-fibre reinforced polyphenylene sulphide is reliable in high loaded movable couplings with steel components under a hot gasoline environment. Plate samples were formed in injection moulding process where mould temperature was 140-150°C and injection pressure 165 MPa, while the temperature at last barrel distance was increased from 285°C to 325°C. Plates were annealed in 207°C/4h and cooled down -180°C/4h. Plates went through 4300h operational tests and 1.2E6 start/stop load intervals in gasoline mixture. The plates after 30-40% of the simulated operating time range showed signs of wear that were within the acceptable range for some applications. After 40-50% of the working time, there was damage on the edges of the tiles, followed by fatigue damage. Tests revealed that injection moulded 40% GF-PPS is suitable for high loaded parts only to a limited extent.