The Influence of Vacuum Level on the Friction Force Acting on the Pneumatic Cylinder Sealing Ring

Presented in this paper are the results of measurement of friction force acting on the pneumatic cylinder sealing rings under high vacuum atmosphere. The investigations were conducted at relatively low levels of sliding speed of the sealing ring. Special device was constructed and implemented to facilitate this experiment. The results indicate the importance of the vacuum level on the friction force magnitude. Higher vacuum levels influence significant increase of friction force. Special phenomenon is the decreasing of friction force at higher sliding speeds of the sealing ring along the cylinder, under the constant vacuum level. Therefore, detailed examination of this phenomenon in the domain of high sliding speeds could yield interesting results