The role of synthetic and natural fillers on three-body abrasive wear behaviour of glass fabric-epoxy hybrid composites

The Influence of Hybridization of Epoxy-Glass Laminates Modified with Metal Oxides and Graphite Particles

This study examined the impact of hybridization on the mechanical properties of glass-epoxy laminates by incorporating metal oxides and graphite particles into the resin matrix. Basic mechanical tests were conducted, followed by accelerated thermal aging tests. Results showed an increase in bending strength ranging from 12% to almost 30% depending on the used additive. Static tensile tests indicated a 10% increase in strength for materials modified with flake graphite. Accelerated aging tests resulted in a 20% decrease in elastic modulus and 10% decrease in tensile strength. Additives did not improve tensile strength but increased stiffness by 30% for laminates with flake graphite. Fatigue and conductivity tests were also performed, revealing enhanced thermal conductivity and reduced impedance in materials modified with graphite flakes. The study suggests that additives can enhance the mechanical properties of glass-epoxy laminates, making them suitable for applications in automotive and aerospace industries.

Three-Body Abrasive Wear Behavior of Needle-Punch Nonwoven Jute Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Now-a-days, natural fiber based composites are emerging as a supplement to the synthetic fiber composites. The aim of the present work is to investigate the three-body abrasive wear behavior of needle-punch nonwoven jute fiber reinforced epoxy (NJFE) composites in an abrasive environment. Three-body abrasion studies have been done on composites using rubber wheel abrasion tester. The design of experiments approach using Taguchi methodology is employed for the parametric analysis of abrasive wear process. The effect of the factors such as sliding velocity, fiber loading, applied load, sliding distance and abrasive size on the specific wear rate and coefficient of friction of composite has been studied. Experimental results reveal the improvement of abrasive wear behavior of the composites with the addition of fiber as compared to neat epoxy. At steady state condition, it has been observed that composites with 36 wt% fiber loading shows minimum specific wear rate. From the statistical analysis it has been concluded that the factor combination with sliding velocity of 120 cm/s, fiber loading of 36 wt%, normal load of 10 N, sliding distance of 50 m and abrasive size of 400 μm gives minimum specific wear rate whereas sliding velocity of 144 cm/s, fiber loading of 36 wt%, normal load of 10 N, sliding distance of 70 m and abrasive size of 300 μm gives minimum coefficient of friction. Finally, the worn surfaces are examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and possible abrasion wear mechanisms are discussed.