Effect of temperature on the friction and wear performance of porous oil-containing polyimide

Tribological behaviors of porous polyimide (PPI) impregnated with polyalphaolefin at different temperatures were investigated. As temperature increases, the coefficient of friction (COF) of PPI decreases at 0.15 m/s but no obviously changes at 0.01 m/s. In contrast, the COF of non-porous polyimide under external oil-supply increases regardless of speeds. This is due to the fact that COF is related to the oil-supply and viscosity determined by temperature. At 0.15 m/s, PPI is in mixed lubrication, self-healing of desorbed adsorption-film and reducing interlaminar shear-force lead to lower COF. However, at 0.01 m/s, PPI is in boundary lubrication, the stored oil can be slowly released and migrated to the interface to heal the adsorption-film, and prevent COF from further increasing. •Tribological mechanisms of oil-containing polyimides (OCPPIs) at different temperatures were studied.•Viscosity and amount of lubricating oil supply strongly depend on temperature.•The lubricating oil migrates to interface to realize the self-healing of desorbed boundary film.•OCPPIs are in mixed lubrication at higher speed, and OCPPIs are in boundary lubrication at lower speed.