Effect of Graphite Addition on Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Sisal Glass FRP Composites

Abstract

Composite materials are gaining more importance in present-day engineering design and development activities because of their attractive mechanical properties [1-2] and are composed of Fibers, Matrix and Fillers. In the present research work Glass and Sisal are used as fibers, Epoxy resin is used as a matrix and different volume fractions of graphite is used as a filler to develop FRP composites using hand layup and bag molding process to study the Mechanical and Tribological characteristics as per ASTM standards. It is evident from the results that Mechanical properties are improved marginally compared to unfilled composites. Further, it is noticed from POD and three-body abrasive tests that the addition of the Graphite enhances the coefficient of friction with the reduction in wear loss. Due to environmental consciousness, interest in the use natural fiber are enhanced in different applications. A comparative study was conducted between synthetic (Glass) and natural (Sisal) FRP composites filled with graphite for automotive brake material.