Study on Mechanical and Tribological Characteristics of Epoxy Composites Reinforced with Short Areca-catechu Fibers

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on the dry-sliding wear behavior of natural fiber fortified polymer composites. Such composites are fabricated using epoxy as the matrix and short areca-catechu fibers as the reinforcing element through the conventional hand lay-up route. Four different fiber loadings (0, 2, 4, 6 wt.%) are considered to get samples of different compositions. Physical and mechanical characteristics like density, porosity, and tensile strength are measured. Digimat-FE software is also used to determine the density and stress distribution of the composites. It is found that the tensile strength of composite increases about 47% compared to neat epoxy resin when with the addition of 6 wt.% fiber content. Dry sliding wear tests are carried out using a pin-on-disc test rig according to ASTM standards. Different sliding velocities, sliding distances, and normal loads are considered. Tests are designed as per Taguchi’s L₁₆ orthogonal array and a specific wear rate for each test run is obtained. Noticeable control factors influencing the wear rate are pointed out and ranked. It is found that the reinforcement of short areca-catechu fibers helps in improving the wear resistance of epoxy in dry sliding wear mode. An optimum factor condition for the lowest wear rate is determined. Based on the data obtained from experiments, a predictive equation is proposed to find the specific wear rate of such composites under varied test conditions. The outcomes predicted by this proposed correlation are found to be in a great settlement with the experimental ones.

摘要

研究了天然纤维增强聚合物复合材料的干滑动磨损性能. 以环氧树脂为基体，槟榔短纤维为增强体，采用传统的手工铺层工艺制备了复合材料. 考虑四种不同的纤维负载量（0、2、4、6 wt.%），以获得不同组成的样品. 测量了密度、孔隙率和抗拉强度等物理力学特性. 采用Digimat有限元软件对复合材料的密度和应力分布进行了分析. 结果表明，当纤维含量为6%时，复合材料的拉伸强度比纯环氧树脂提高了47%左右. 根据ASTM标准，使用销盘试验台进行干滑动磨损试验. 考虑了不同的滑动速度、滑动距离和法向荷载. 根据田口的L16正交表设计试验，得出每次试验的具体磨损率. 指出了影响磨损率的显著控制因素，并进行了排序. 结果表明，槟榔短纤维的增强有助于提高环氧树脂在干滑动磨损模式下的耐磨性. 确定了磨损率最低的最佳因素情况. 根据实验数据，提出了在不同试验条件下该类复合材料比磨损率的预测方程. 这种关联式所预测的结果与实验结果有很大的一致性.

KEYWORDS:

• Areca-catechu fiber
• epoxy
• mechanical property
• multiscale FE model
• dry-sliding wear
• Taguchi method

关键词:;:

• 槟榔纤维
• 环氧树脂
• 机械性能
• 多尺度有限FE元模型
• 干滑动磨损
• 田口法