Parametric Study on Abrasive Wear of Reinforced Polytetrafluroethylene Composites Using Taguchi Model

Abstract

Over the years reinforced polymer composites are extensively used in aircraft, automobile and structural industries owing to their high specific modulus and strength. However, the main issue is the method used to quantify the abrasive wear which often does not represent the true nature of the composite behaviour. This study presents optimization of parameters which affect the abrasive wear rate of reinforced polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites using Taguchi model. Friction and wear experiments were performed on a pin-on-disc arrangement as per ASTM G99 standard. A plan of experiment based on Taguchi design was used to obtained data in a controlled way. Load, grit size, distance and speed were considered as process parameters. Taguchi L9 orthogonal array was chosen to find the optimum parameter settings. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to determine parameters that most significantly affect the abrasive wear rate of the reinforced PTFE composites. Confirmation test was conducted to validate the optimized conditions. Taguchi optimization model revealed different combinations of process parameters for desired coefficient of friction (COF) and specific wear rate (Ks). The study concluded that that the load was the most significant parameter that controlled COF and Ks with a contribution of 82.13% and 81.54%, respectively.