Effect of carbon fiber direction of unidirectionally reinforced epoxy composites on frictional behavior

Abstract

This paper reports the experimental results of frictional properties of carbon fiber unidirectionally reinforced epoxy with a counter part of mild steel and the effect of fiber orientation is investigated. It is shown that the coefficient of friction increases with increasing fiber orientation, where 0 degree means that the fiber is parallel to the contact surface, and that this tendency is enhanced with the roughness of the contact surface increasing. The contact surface structures are studied before and after friction by OM, SEM, EPMA and roughness analyzer, and the effects of fiber orientation on the original and frictionally damaged surfaces are mentioned in detail including the discussion on the distribution process of each element. Several mechanisms based on the experimental analyses are presented to explain the effect of fiber orientation on the coefficient of friction of carbon fiber unidirectionally reinforced epoxy.