PCCL Expands Tribology Expertise with Anton Paar

Anton Paar and PCCL announce R&D cooperation in the field of polymer tribology with Anton Paar providing PCCL with a high-end rheometer fitted with a tribology cell.

Their wide range of applications in industry means that polymers are faced with increasing demands on their behaviour when subjected to friction and wear (tribology). The polymer tribology team at PCCL is cooperating with partners from industry on developing innovative tribological testing methods and optimizing polymers with specific tribological properties. To enhance the company’s competence profile, a cooperative R&D venture was recently launched with Anton Paar in order to exploit the potential offered by the measuring systems developed by Anton Paar for the purposes of polymer tribology. To this end, Anton Paar provided PCCL with an MCR 702 TwinDrive including the T-PTD 200 tribology cell.

For Wolfgang Baumgartner, Head of Rheometry at Anton Paar, this cooperation represents an opportunity to combine PCCL’s expertise in the field of polymer tribology with that of Anton Paar as a producer of highly accurate measuring instruments in the most effective way possible. Similarly, PCCL managers Martin Payer and Wolfgang Kern are also convinced that this cooperation is an excellent opportunity for research of the highest scientific standard that at the same time provides insights into potential applications with a view to developing tribologically optimized polymers.

The equipment:

The MCR 702 TwinDrive with the T-PTD 200 tribology cell can be used in the mN force range and for the extremely accurate detection of friction torque (mNm), which represents a major advance in the tribology measuring equipment available to PCCL. Another advantage of the MCR 702 TwinDrive is that it includes a temperature control device that covers temperatures from -40° C to 180° C, the range relevant for the tribological characterization of plastics. From a scientific perspective, the visualization of friction and wear processes in situ by means of a polymer-glass contact with corresponding camera systems is of particular significance. This supports the material development of tribologically optimized polymers and the definition of the criteria necessary for the transition from trials with models to usable components.

Photo © Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH
Left to right: Wolfgang Kern (CSO PCCL), Martin Payer (CEO PCCL) and Wolfgang Baumgartner (Head of Rheometry/Anton Paar GmbH)