Wear studies on carbon fiber nano SiC composites – a Grey-Taguchi method optimization

Abstract

In the present study, Taguchi method coupled with Grey is used to optimize the process parameter during wear test on carbon fiber nano-SiC composites. The composites are fabricated with various weight (wt) fraction of nano-SiC particle by hand lay method. The mechanical properties such as tensile and compression strength are studied. The microstructure of fabricated composites indicates a uniform dispersion of nano-SiC particles. The wear test was performed using Taguchi L27 Orthogonal Array (OA). The experiments are conducted using various speed, load, and weight fraction of nano-SiC particle for a constant sliding distance of 1500 m. The optimum process parameter was obtained from the Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Grey relation grade. The experimental results indicate that the dominant parameter was (wt) fraction of nano-SiC particles followed by speed and load. Confirmation test is also performed to validate the experiments. The results indicate that the multi-responses such as wear loss and coefficient of friction are greatly improved through this approach. Finally, the worn surfaces of the composites are examined through Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).

Keywords:

• SiC nanoparticles
• wear loss
• pin-on -disc
• Taguchi
• Grey