In recent years, the development of high strength gel has progressed, and it is entering the stage of trying to apply it to mechanical parts making full use of the low friction property of gel. If this is realized, further increase in energy efficiency is expected. DN gel has high strength and low friction. We are aiming at practical application as P type O-ring utilizing this performance. In this study, a vertical rotation type testing machine was introduced, and friction measurement was performed under conditions assuming helical motion.
Additive manufacturing or 3D printer is one of the most innovative material processing methods. We are considering that human resources for 3D printing would be needed in the future. To educate the abilities of the digital fabrication, we have the public digital fabrication space “Eki-Fab” for junior and high school students and Project Based Learning (PBL) class for undergraduate students. Eki-Fab is held on every Saturday at the Yonezawa train station. In the “Eki-Fab”, anybody can study the utilizing of 3D printer and modeling technics under the instruction of staff in Yamagata University. In the PBL class, we have the class every Thursday. The students get the techniques of the digital fabrication through the PBL.
In the last decade, several innovative polymer gel materials with enhanced mechanical proper ties have been invented by
Japanese researches. In 2003, a most effective but simple way was proposed to synthesize double network gels, with
compression fracture stress of about 30MPa, compared to several tens of kPa for common gels. In this study, we evaluate
the wear of a double network gel, both with and without water lubrication. In the un-lubricated experiment, the gel
surface is worn with a stainless steel ball. In the other experiment with water lubrication, the gel surface is worn by
different counter surfaces because the stainless steel ball was too smooth to wear. It was found that frictional vibration of
wear gel is transitioning to steady sliding in lubricated. As conventional reduction method of the friction by the contact
between general solids, there are surface processing such as the texturing, attachment of lubrication materials. In the case
of gel, the minute processing to the surface such as the texturing is difficult, because the gel is soft in comparison with
the hard materials such as the metal. By proceeding with this study, the surface processing of low-frictional gels will be
enabled.
The frictional behavior of the four kinds of high functional gels, which are double network (DN) gels, particle-double network gels (P-DN), shape memory gels (SMG), LA-shape memory gels (LA-SMG) and was studied. The velocity dependence looks similar for both the DN gels and the SMG, however the details of the dependence are different. The coefficient of the DN gels is smaller than that of the SMGs. The coefficient decreases as the normal force increases. This normal force dependence was observed for the DN gels previously, however for the first time for the SMGs. The velocity dependence looks similar for both the DN gels and the SMG, however the details of the dependence are different. The coefficient of the DN gels is smaller than that of the SMGs. The difference of the dependences is possibly related to the different softness by the temperature change of the gels. The temperature dependence of the coefficient of friction in LA-SMG was observed. Increase of the perpendicular load and the surface softness were influenced by coefficient of friction increase. In addition, the frictional coefficient of P-DN that different particle size was measured for the first time. The difference of the friction behavior of LA-SMG by the particle size was clear. Therefore, we show frictional coefficient of various high functional gels.
Several synthesis methods have been devised to improve the mechanical strength of gels extraordinarily after 2001. It was a trigger to use gels as a new industrial materials, since gels had been considered difficult for industrial materials because of their weakness. In a recent study, we had designed transparency shape memory gels for the first time. Shape memory gels are one of the gels with characteristic networks, and have a shape memory function by copolymerizing an acrylic monomer with a hydrophobic long alkyl side group. It is well known that the mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus and friction coefficient of shape memory gels depend on temperature. In this study, we tried to change the frictional properties of shape memory gels by laser surface texturing. Two types of processed surface were prepared. The hexagonal close packed pattern and the square close packed pattern of dimples were formed on the surface of gel sheets with CO2 laser. The intensity of laser was optimized to avoid cutting gels. The friction coefficients of unprocessed gels and two types of processed gels were measured by ball-on-disk method. Measurement partner material was sodalime glass ball. The measurement results of processed gels showed clear differences from unprocessed gels. The friction coefficients of processed gels were larger than unprocessed gels. However, these results specifically showed the velocity dependence. It indicates that surface texturing enable to control the friction coefficient of polymer gels by surface pattern and velocity.
In 2003, the most effective but simple way was proposed to synthesize double network gels, whose compression fracture stress reached about 30MPa, while that of common gels were several tens kPa. Our group has focused on PAMPSPDMAAm DN gel, because it possibly has both biocompatibility and permeability, which are good for developing artificial articular cartilage and artificial blood vessel. It is also possibly used for rapid additive manufacturing with 3D gel printer. Here, we develop a novel apparatus of the ball on disk method to observe the surface friction of the DN gels. We hope to apply this apparatus for various studies about the tribological behavior of the gels, especially about the effect of external electric field on the gel friction.
Gels are soft and wet materials that differ from hard and dry materials like metals, plastics and ceramics. These have some unique characteristic such as low frictional properties, high water content and materials permeability. A decade earlier, DN gels having a mechanical strength of 30MPa of the maximum breaking stress in compression was developed and it is a prospective material as the biomaterial of the human body. Indeed it frictional coefficient and mechanical strength are comparable to our cartilages. In this study, we focus on the dynamic frictional interface of hydrogels and aim to develop a new apparatus with a polarization microscope for observation. The dynamical interface is observed by the friction of gel and glass with hudroxypropylcellulose (HPC) polymer solution sandwiching. At the beginning, we rubbed hydrogel and glass with HPC solution sandwiching on stage of polarization microscope. Second step, we designed a new system which combined microscope with friction measuring machine. The comparison between direct observation with this instrument and measurement of friction coefficient will become a foothold to elucidate distinctive frictional phenomena that can be seen in soft and wet materials.
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