Development and characterization of alkali treated abaca fiber reinforced friction composites

Abaca fibers show tremendous potential as reinforcing components in composite materials. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of abaca fiber content on physical, mechanical and tribological properties of abaca fiber reinforced friction composites. The friction composites were fabricated by a compression molder and investigated using a friction test machine. The experiment results show that surface treatment of abaca fibers could improve the mechanical properties of abaca fiber and interface bonding strength of the abaca fiber and composite matrix. Density of friction composites decreased with the increasing of abaca fiber content (0 wt%-4 wt%). The different content of abaca fibers had less effect on hardness of specimens, whereas large of impact strength. The specimen F3 with 3 wt% abaca fibers had the lowest wear rate and possessed the best wear resistance, followed by specimen F4 with 4 wt% abaca fibers. The worn surface morphologies were observed using the Scanning Electron Microscopy for study the tribological behavior and wear mechanism. The results show that a large amount of secondary contact plateaus presented on the worn surface of specimen F3 which had relatively smooth worn surface. [GRAPHICS] .