Wear behavior of Palmyra palm leaf stalk fiber (PPLSF) reinforced polyester composites

The effect of alkali treatment and fiber length on the wear performance of the Palmyra palm leaf stalk fiber (PPLSF)-polyester composites and the possibilities for using PPLSF in wear resistance applications were explored at different speeds and normal loads for constant sliding distance using pin on disk wear tester as per the ASTM G99 standard. Unsaturated polyester was used as matrix, and composites were prepared by molding in an open mold and pouring the resin. It was observed that wear loss and coefficient of friction reduced due to reinforcement of PPLSF. Reinforcing alkali-treated PPLSF in the matrix has further reduced the wear loss and coefficient of friction. At high speed and high load condition considered in this study shows that the wear loss and coefficient of friction were reduced by 64 and 22%, respectively, for alkali-treated fiber composites compared with untreated fiber composites. The effect of fiber length on the wear performance was also evaluated and optimal set of parameters that would result in minimum wear loss and coefficient of friction was determined by design of experimental method using Taguchi's orthogonal array. The surface morphology of the composites after wear tests was examined using scanning electron microscopy to analyze the mechanism of wear.