Spatiotemporal mapping for in-situ and real-time tribological analysis in polymer-metal contacts

Spatiotemporal mapping (SMA) is a graphical technique to visualise the evolution of data with time and space during process. This paper discusses benefits SMA in field polymer tribology via two highly different polymer/metal sliding systems. The found useful for qualitative quantitative characterisation analysis transfer phenomena at contact interface repeated sliding, e.g., slide-roll mechanism lumps, severe-to-mild wear transition due tribo-chemical reaction PTFE, accumulation debris, formation friction-reducing back-transfer polyimide films. Additionally, helps spot various abnormal tribological behaviours, such as local removal oxides on misaligned disc that would otherwise be overlooked.