Experimental modeling of the conformal-contact tribocharging of polymers

International audienceElectrostatic charge generated by friction is well known but poorly understood. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of various factors involved in the frictional conformal-contact. The study focused on the tribocharging process between two polymer slabs. As it is a multi-factorial process with several interacting variables, the experimental design methodology was employed for its modeling. Three factors were taken into consideration and their domains of variation established as follows; contact force, from 2 to 10 N; charging time, from 10 to 290 s and the frequency of back-and-forth sliding motion, from 0.5 to 1.5 Hz. The distribution of the electric charge at the surface of polymers was measured by the auto-compensated inductive probe connected to an electrostatic voltmeter. A mathematical model allowing the evaluation of the effects of the various factors and of their interactions was obtained. A comparison between the triboelectic behavior of PTFE, PVC and ABS was made. It was found that electric potential increases with the contact force and the charging time, but decreases with the frequency of the back-and-forth sliding motion