Experimental investigation and analysis on the wear properties of glass fiber and CNT reinforced hybrid polymer composites

Abstract

The aviation, automobile, and consumer products industry requires long-life, durable, lightweight high-performance polymer matrix composites. Polymer fiber reinforced materials possess low weight and high specific quality along with high specific stiffness. The addition of carbon nanoparticles in the composites improves their mechanical properties, including wear enhancement, which leads to the utilization of these composites in different fields. The present work investigates the wear performance of glass fiber and carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced hybrid polymer composites. Dry sliding tests for wear were conducted using a pin-on-disc wear tester by varying the load and speed. The worn surfaces were examined by utilizing scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The result shows that the increase in volume percentage of CNTs in glass fiber reinforced polymer composites decreases the wear rate. The result also clearly states that the coefficient of friction increases with an increase in the CNT percentage.