Wear properties of nanoclay-modified short basalt fiber reinforced polymer composites

Abstract

This paper presents the effect of 1.0, 3.0 and 5.0wt% nanoclay filler inclusion on wear properties of basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) composite. Short basalt fiber was reinforced with nanoclay modified epoxy matrix using a manual hand layup system. The nanoclay was dispersed in epoxy matrix using mechanical stirrer and three roll mill high shearing technique. The composites were tested under dry and two-body abrasive wear conditions through pin-on-disc tester and abrasion resistance tester respectively. The operating condition was fixed at 30N load, 30rpm speed and 10km distance. The results showed that the addition of basalt fiber had improved the wear properties of epoxy polymer under both test conditions. The inclusion of nanoclay has also improved wear properties of pure BFRP composite of up to 38% and 42% exhibited by 5.0wt% nanoclay content under dry sliding and abrasive wear, respectively.