Wear and friction behaviour of kans grass fiber/polyester composites

Abstract

The friction and wear behaviour of kans grass fiber (KGF) polyester composites were examined. An amount of 0, 10, 13.35, 18 and 20.08 vol % was reinforced into the polyester resin for composite development using hand layup technique. The tribo-test specimens of size 4×4×50 mm were cut from the fabricated composites and tested on wear and friction testing machine at 0.5-1.5 m/s of sliding velocity and a constant load of 5 N for 60 seconds. It was found that the neat polyester specimen possessed less wear resistance than the KGF composites at almost all the sliding conditions. The fiber content and variation in sliding velocity slightly influenced the friction behaviour. The increase in fiber vol% from 10 to 20.08 marginally increased the average friction coefficient of the KGF composite specimens at 0.5 m/s and 1.5 m/s whereas fluctuating behaviour was noticed at intermediate sliding velocity.