FRICTION COEFFICIENT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE COMPONENTS

Engineering properties of materials includes coefficient of friction (COF) which are basic in design performance of engineering systems. The COF can be considered as very important in design of handling tools. Various types of handling tools and equipment are used at various stages of disposal and treatment of MSW and COF is one critical property. This paper presents estimate of COF of municipal solid waste components. The components of the municipal solid waste are paper, plastic, organic and others. The estimation of the COF was done using an inclino-tribometer. Waste from 16 sample locations were used with 6 surfaces which are considered to be of relevant. It was estimated that Formica surface has the least COF values and range from 0.269 and 0.312 with ‘others' – formica surface tribosystem being the least. It was also found that paint application on wooden surface with oil paint would increase COF as compared to applying emulsion on same wooden surface. The study pointed out that polishing with vanish is the best way to reduce COF in wood surfaces. It was also observed that painting metal surfaces with oil paint will increase the COF than when the same metal was left unpolished or unpainted.