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Wear
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wear
a r t i c l e i n f o
abstract
Article history:
Received 19 November 2011
Received in revised form
30 July 2012
Accepted 2 August 2012
Available online 10 August 2012
The dry sliding wear characteristics of a glassepoxy (GE) composite, lled with both silicon carbide
(SiCp) and graphite (Gr), were studied using a pin-on-disc test apparatus. The specic wear rate was
determined as a function of sliding velocity, applied load and sliding distance. The laminates were
fabricated by the hand lay-up technique. The volume percentage of ller materials in the composite
was varied, silicon carbide was varied from 5 to 10% whereas graphite was kept constant at 5%. The
excellent wear resistance was obtained with glassepoxy containing llers. The transfer lm formed on
the counter surface was conrmed to be effective in improving the wear characteristics of lled GE
composites. The inuence of applied load is more on specic wear rate compared to the other two wear
parameters. The worn surfaces of composites were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
to investigate the probable wear mechanisms. It was found that in the early stage of wear, the llers
contribution is signicant. The process of transfer lm, debris formation and ber breakage accounts for
the wear at much later stages.
& 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Sliding wear
Polymer matrix composites
Wear testing
Surface topography
1. Introduction
Over the past decades, polymer matrix composites are made
and most widely used for structural applications in the aerospace,
automotive, and chemical industries, and in providing alternatives to traditional metallic materials [1]. The features that make
composites so promising as industrial and engineering materials
are their high specic strength, high specic stiffness and opportunities to tailor material properties through the control of ber
and matrix compositions. Composites are developed for superior
mechanical strength and this objective often conicts with the
simultaneous achievement of superior wear resistance [2]. As a
result of this, these materials are found to be used in mechanical
components such as gears, cams, wheels, impellers, brakes,
clutches, conveyors, transmission belts, bushes and bearings. In
most of these services the components are subjected to tribological loading conditions, where the likelihood of wear failure
becomes greater. Of the large number of matrices available
commercially, only a small portion is in signicant use for these
kinds of applications.
The use of llers in the matrix, gives rise to many combinations that provide increasing load withstanding capability,
reduced coefcient of friction, improved wear resistance and
0043-1648/$ - see front matter & 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2012.08.001
improved thermal properties. In addition to this, llers in polymeric composite reduce the cost due to the less consumption of
matrix material. Fibers are the principal constituents in a ber
reinforced composite materials. They occupy the largest volume
fraction and share the major portion of the load acting on a
composite [3]. In case of dry sliding it is effective in reducing the
wear rate, this reduction in wear is due to the load carrying
capacity of the bers, their higher creep resistance and thermal
conductivity. But the higher load makes it more sensitive to ber
breaking, pulverizing of the bers and transfer [4]. Generally, the
wear behavior of polymer matrix composites is different from
that of conventional metallic materials. The material removal
from the polymer matrix composites in contact with a counter
surface is characterized by several mechanisms. The primary one
is adhesive wear, wherein ne particles of polymer gets removed
from the surface, and also bermatrix debonding and ber
breaking. On the other hand, the presence of either the fused
polymer or the grooves at the interface is interpreted to indicate
that the materials are wearing out by abrasion instead of
adhesion [5].
The question of why bers and llers usually improve the
wear resistance of a polymer matrix has been the subject of
intense study in recent years [69]. Zhang et al. [10] studied
dry sliding friction and wear behavior of PEEK and PEEK/SiCcomposite coatings and concluded that the inuences of SiC llers
in the composite effectively reduce the plough and the adhesion
between the two relative sliding parts. Chauhan et al. [11]
492
Table 1
Details of composites prepared.
Specimen
code
A
B
C
Matrix
volume (%)
50
40
35
Reinforcement
volume (%)
50
50
50
Gr
5
10
5
5
1
3
14
Ws X10-6 mm3/Nm
12
10
8
6
0
2.72
4.08
5.44
6.8
Sliding Velocity in m/s
8.16
9.52
Fig. 1. Variation of specic wear rate against sliding velocity at constant applied
load of 60 N and at a sliding distance of 3000 m.
25
A
Ws X10-6 mm3/Nm
20
B
C
15
10
5
0
20
40
60
80
Applied Load in N
100
120
Fig. 2. Variation of specic wear rate against applied load at constant sliding
velocity of 5.44 m/s and at a sliding distance of 3000 m.
12
Ws X10-6 mm3/Nm
10
8
6
A
B
2
0
1000
2000
4000
3000
Sliding Distance in m
5000
6000
Fig. 3. Variation of specic wear rate against sliding distance at constant sliding
velocity of 5.44 m/s and at an applied load of 60 N.
493
during the initial run in period when epoxy comes in contact with
the counter surface, severe adhesive wear occurs and the specic
wear rate increases. Further the specic wear rate is controlled by
glass ber reinforcement. The subsequent escape of exposed glass
ber debris expelled within the contact zone is likely to exacerbate wear still further by three-body abrasion. This type of wear
behavior has been explained by Rajesh et al. [19]. Basavarajappa
et al. [20] studying dry sliding wear behavior of aluminum metal
matrix composites reinforced with SiC and Gr particles using
Taguchi techniques, found that sliding distance is the wear factor
that has the highest physical as well as statistical inuence on the
wear of the composites.
In contrast, in the dry sliding wear behavior of GE composite
lled with SiCp and graphite particles, sliding distance has less
effect on the wear as shown in Fig. 3. From the gure it can be
observed that the specic wear rate exhibits an initial steep drop
and remains practically insensitive to sliding distance thereafter.
High specic wear rate was noticed for unlled GE composite
compared to lled GE composites. The formation of air bubbles
and voids is practically unavoidable in unlled GE composite,
and these voids affect the matrixber interfacial zone. In this
zone a viscous matrix ow appears to occur during sliding,
probably because of matrix softening. The synergistic effect of
SiCp ller and solid lubricant Gr in GE composite not only
reduces the voids but also increases the wear resistance. During
the sliding, SiCp particles embedded in the matrix are capable of
enhancing the adhesion by forming physical interaction with the
counter surface, resulting in signicant reduction in matrix
wearing.
At higher loads, however additional frictional heat released in
a contact tends to soften the resin; thus the contact surface is
sheared giving rise to loose SiCp particles. Due to this some SiCp
particles are easily removed from the surface layer together with
graphite lm and transferred on to the counter surface to form a
high lubricity in a cumulative fashion. The transfer lm effectively
reduces the extent of frictional heating, leading to less damage to
the matrix, bers and their adhesion. The nature of transferred
lm on the counter surface plays a key role in controlling the
wear performance of a composite. In addition, llers serve to
cushion asperities from shock, subsequent fracture and the
resultant enhanced wear. At the same time llers provide more
protection from glass bers on the counter surface and have
strong inuence on the wear resistance. In the presence of more
volume percentage of SiCp ller, the lack of transfer lm causes
unsatisfactory levels of specic wear rate at higher loads. But
from the published data [21] it appears that the wear rate
increases when SiCp portion exceeds the optimum value. The
wear characteristics of the GE composite appear to depend on
the hard SiCp and graphite fraction depositing a thin transfer lm
on the counter surface.
494
495
5. Conclusions
The study of the wear behavior of lled and unlled GE
composites at various sliding velocity, applied load and sliding
distance reveals the following.
An increase in sliding velocity increased the specic wear rate.
Applied load has much more predominant effect, whereas sliding
distance has less effect. Inclusion of llers in GE composites leads
to better wear resistance; however higher the percentage of the
SiCp ller along with graphite higher the wear due to deteriorated
abrasive wear performance of the parent material and it is also seen
to depend on the amount and nature of the transfer lm formed on
the steel counter surface. The wear mechanisms involved are well
indicated with SEM micrographs, which reveal multiple microcracking, debris formation, ber thinning, ber breakage, ber pull
outs, peeling of the matrix and bermatrix debonding.
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Fig. 10. GE composite lled with 10% SiCp5% Gr at 100 N applied load.
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