Wear Mechanisms of Milled Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites

It the current research, tribological properties and the wear mechanisms of milled fiber reinforced epoxy composites have been studied. The composites were fabricated by adding 1wt% of milled E-glass, S-glass, and carbon fibers to a commercial epoxy resin. After performing pin-on-disc tests on the composite samples, their wear path were investigated by a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to find the governing wear mechanisms. Besides, Shore-D hardness tests were conducted to determine their hardness. Based on the results, a three-stage wear mechanism was proposed which was a combination of adhesion and abrasion wear mechanisms with a transition stage. Also, the results showed that the milled S-glass fiber was obviously more effective to decrease the friction coefficient. Its friction coefficient was just about 1/8 of the pure epoxy. Moreover, the wear rate of the composite reinforced with the milled carbon fiber was about 13% lower than that of the pure epoxy

Keywords:

Composite , Epoxy , Milled fiber , Wear mechanism