Role of zirconia filler on friction and dry sliding wear behaviour of bismaleimide nanocomposites

This paper discusses the friction and dry sliding wear behaviour of nano-zirconia (nano-ZrO2) filled bismleimide (BMI) composites. Nano-ZrO2 filled BMI composites, containing 0.5, 1,5 and 10 wt.% were prepared using high shear mixer. The influence of these particles on the microhardness, friction and dry sliding wear behaviour were measured with microhardness tester and pin-on-disc wear apparatus. The experimental results indicated that the frictional coefficient and specific wear rate of BMI can be reduced at rather low concentration of nano-ZrO2. The lowest specific wear rate of 4 x 10(-6) mm(3)/Nm was observed for 5 wt.% nano-ZrO2 filled composite which is decreased by 78% as compared to the neat BMI. The incorporation of nano-ZrO2 particles leads to an increased hardness of BMI and wear performance of the composites shows good correlation with the hardness up to 5 wt.% of filler loading. The results have been supplemented with scanning electron micrographs to help understand the possible wear mechanisms. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.