Tribological properties of short carbon fibers reinforced epoxy composites

Abstract

Short carbon fiber (SCF) reinforced epoxy composites with different SCF contents were developed to investigate their tribological properties. The friction coefficient and wear of the epoxy composites slid in a circular path against a steel pin inclined at 45° to a vertical axis and a steel ball significantly decreased with increased SCF content due to the solid lubricating effect of SCFs along with the improved mechanical strength of the composites. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation showed that the epoxy composites had less sensitive to surface fatigue caused by the repeated sliding of the counterparts than the epoxy. The tribological results clearly showed that the incorporation of SCFs was an effective way to improve the tribological properties of the epoxy composites.