Investigation on Sliding Wear Behaviour and Mechanical Properties of Jatropha Oil Cake-Filled Glass-Epoxy Composites

The effect of Jatropha oil cake (JOC) filler incorporation into glass fabric-epoxy (G-E) composites and its sliding wear and mechanical properties were evaluated. The sliding distance and applied load are the process parameters at constant sliding velocity. The results show that JOC-filled composites exhibit better sliding wear performance at all test conditions. The wear loss increases with an increase in sliding distance and applied load, whereas under the same conditions, the specific wear rate decreases. The operating wear mechanisms have been studied at higher and lower sliding distances at applied loads of 10 and 20 N by using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM results indicate more severe damage to matrix and glass fibre in unfilled composite systems compared to JOC-filled composite.