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

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 L-16 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.

Automated summary

This study investigates the impact of different fiber loadings on the dry-sliding wear behavior of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites. The results show that the addition of short areca-catechu fibers significantly improves the wear resistance of the composites. An optimum fiber content is determined for the lowest wear rate. Additionally, a predictive equation is proposed to estimate the specific wear rate of the composites under varied test conditions, which shows good agreement with experimental results.