Erosion wear behavior of needle-punched nonwoven fabric (NPNF) reinforced epoxy composites - An evaluation using Taguchi's design

This article depicts the solid particle erosion response of polymer matrix composite (PMCs) reinforced with a textile material i.e., needle-punched nonwoven fabric (NPNF) under the impingement of such solid particle at different velocities and angles. The influence of six experimental parameters (i.e. impact velocity, fiber loading, angle of impingement, area density, erodent size, and stand-off-distance) with three different levels each on performance output (i.e., wear rate) are studied from erosion trails using Taguchi's L27 orthogonal array design. Based on analysis of signal-to-noise ratio obtained from this Taguchi's design of experiment approach, predominantly influential parameters affecting the erosion wear rate are identified. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.