Wear Properties of Nanoclay Filled Epoxy Polymers and Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Composites

Abstract

Polymeric material is one of the best materials, which has been used in many applications. This is owing to its excellent properties such as low density, good mechanical properties and good chemical resistance. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of nanoclay on wear properties of epoxy polymer and fibre reinforced composites. The nanoclay/epoxy composites with 1, 3 and 5 wt% nanoclay contents were fabricated using high shear mixing system at 60 °C and speed of 12.7 m/s, while glass fiber reinforced nanocomposite panels were fabricated using vacuum bagging system. The effect of nanoclay on wear properties was evaluated using dry sliding wear and slurry tests. Dry sliding wear test was conducted using vitrified bonded silicon carbide abrasive wheels and Slurry test was conducted using a mixture of sand and water as slurry items. The mass loss and specific wear rate curves showed that wear properties of pure epoxy system and fiber reinforced polymer were enhanced when the weight fraction of nanoclay in the system reached up to certain weight percentage. Epoxy system with 3 wt% nanoclay has highest wear properties when compared to pure, 1 and 5 wt% nanoclay content in epoxy systems, while fiber reinforced polymer composite with 5 wt% nanoclay content has the highest wear properties compared to pure, 1 and 3 wt% nanoclay content. The results were affected by the agglomeration of nanoparticles and weak compatibility of nanoclay, glass fiber and epoxy.