Wear Behavior of Coconut Fiber Reinforced Polyamide Matrix Composites

Abstract

Nowadays, the polymer matrix fiber reinforced composites have greater attention of many important manufacturing sectors particularly construction, automotive and packaging industries due to its low density, good mechanical and better tribological properties. Recently, the coconut fiber reinforced composites have replaced the most widely used synthetic fiber (Glass, Kevlar) reinforced polymer composites in many applications. In the present study, the polymer matrix composites were prepared and developed through hand layup process with treated short coconut fiber. Composite specimens were prepared according to the ASTM Standard G-99 and the wear tests were conducted on the Pin-On-Disk wear testing machine. The experiments were carried out according to the central composite second order rotatable design. Optimization has been carried out using Response surface methodology (RSM). The morphology of worn surfaces was examined through scanning electron microscope (SEM) and various wear mechanisms were discussed.