Wear of Poly(tetrafluoroethylene)

The wear characteristics of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) have been widely studied; it is an important commercial polymer. This special attention has sometimes created a thesis that this polymer has very unusual or special wear characteristics when compared with the response of other polymers. This review compares the wear behaviour of PTFE with that of a range of polymers and examines the basis of this belief. The experimental evidence indicates that it is only in the area of transfer wear that a major contrast in characteristics is seen. Even in this restricted wear mode the differences are arguably ones of extent and not kind.