Parametric Analysis of Epoxy/Crumb Rubber Composite by Using Taguchi-GRA Hybrid Technique

Effect of parameters affecting solid particle erosion of crumb rubber epoxy composite is investigated. Five important process parameters—impact velocity, impingement angle, standoff distance, erodent size, and crumb rubber content—are taken into consideration. Erosion rate and erosion efficiency are included as the chief objectives. The Taguchi coupled gray relational analysis type statistical model is implemented to study interaction, parameters’ effect on responses, and optimized parameters. ANOVA and regression model affirmed impingement angle and crumb rubber content play a significant role to minimize the erosion. Validity of the proposed model is justified with the standard probability plot and R² value. A confirmation experiment conducted with A₂B₂C₃D₃E₃ condition registers noticeable enhancement in GRG to the tune of 0.0893.

Leverage of Environmental Pollutant Crump Rubber on the Dry Sliding Wear Response of Epoxy Composites

The effect of crump rubber on the dry sliding wear behavior of epoxy composites is investigated in the present study. Wear tests are carried out for three levels of crump rubber (10, 20, and 30 vol.%), normal applied load (30, 40, and 50 N), and sliding distance (1, 3, and 5 km). The wear behavior of crump rubber–epoxy composites is investigated against EN31 steel discs. The hybrid mathematical approach of Taguchi-coupled Grey Relational Analysis (GRA)—Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is used to examine the influence of crump rubber on the tribological response of composites. Mathematical and experimental results reveal that increasing crump rubber content reduces the wear rate of composites. Composites also show a significant decrease in specific wear values at higher applied loads. Furthermore, the coefficient of friction also shows a decreasing trend with an increase in crump rubber content, indicating the effectiveness of reinforcing crump rubber in a widely used epoxy matrix. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results also reveal that the crump rubber content in the composite is a significant parameter to influence the wear characteristic. The post-test temperature of discs increases with an increase in the applied load, while decreasing with an increase in filler loading. Worn surfaces are analyzed using scanning electron microscopy to understand structure–property correlations. Finally, existing studies available in the literature are compared with the wear data of the present study in the form of a property map.