Application of Taguchi method on optimization of testing parameters for erosion of glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite materials

The target of this experimental study is to investigate solid particle erosion behavior of a new composite material formed by adding boric acid particles to glass fibers and epoxy resin at an amount of 15% and 30%. The tests which involved angular aluminum particles with two different sizes were conducted at different conditions of impact velocities, fiber directions and impingement angles. The test specimens were characterized by techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). In addition, the design of the experiments which utilizes Taguchi's orthogonal arrays approach was used and an optimal parameter combination determined which led to minimization of erosion rate of the composites. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.