Dynamic mechanical analysis and three-body abrasive wear behaviour of thermoplastic copolyester elastomer composites

Abstract

Various amounts of short fibers (glass and carbon) and particulate fillers like polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), silicon carbide (SiC), and alumina (Al2O3) were systematically introduced into the thermoplastic copolyester elastomer (TCE) matrix for reinforcement purpose. The mechanical properties such as storage modulus, loss modulus, and Tan δ by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and three-body abrasive wear performance on a dry sand rubber wheel abrasion tester have been investigated. For abrasive wear study, the experiments were planned according to L27 orthogonal array by considering three factors and three levels. The complex moduli for TCE hybrid composites were pushed to a higher level relative to the TCE filled PTFE composite. At lower temperatures (in the glassy region), the storage modulus increases with increase in wt.% of reinforcement (fiber + fillers) and the value is maximum for the composite with 40 wt.% reinforcement. The loss modulus and damping peaks were also found to be higher by the incorporation of SiC and Al2O3 microfillers. The routine abrasive wear test results indicated that TCE filled PTFE composite exhibited better abrasion resistance. Improvements in the abrasion resistance, however, have not been achieved by short-fiber and particlaute filler reinforcements. From the Taguchi's experimental findings, optimal combination of control factors were obtained for minimum wear volume and also predictive correlations were proposed. Further, the worn surface morphology of the samples was discussed.