Investigation of Dry Wear Behaviour of Silicon-Eglass-Epoxy composite Material

Basava T*, A. N. Harirao

*S. D. M . Institute of Technology, Ujire, Karnataka, India S. J college of Engineering, Mysore, Karnataka, India.

ABSTRACT In many common and advanced engineering applications, polymers and their composite are emerging as variable alternative to metal and their alloys. Due to the mechanical loading situation in engineering applications, the composite materials are needed to be tested intensively. This article describes the development of a composite system consisting of GP Resign reinforced with E-glass fiber and Silicon particles and studies its dry wear behaviour using pin-on-disc apparatus. The comparative performance of epoxy- Eglass composite with influence of Silicon filler were experimentally investigated under varying load, sliding distance and velocity. It reveals significant control factors of silicon particles influencing the wear.

Keywords: Eglass, Epoxy, Silicon, Wear.

1.

Introducti on

Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) co mposites have progressively emerged as viable structural materials due to their high specific strength, stiffness and density properties. The uses of such materials in primary and secondary structural co mposites render their mechanical properties a primary importance in design considerations. These materials are used under certain working conditions, which also dictate a complete knowledge of their tribological properties. Such conditions are mainly met in aerospace and automob ile industries, in which, composites are increasingly used. Recently, there has been a considerable amount of research directed towards acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the tribological behaviour of these materials [1, 2, 6]. Other researchers are interested in studying the affect of fiber o rientation on these properties [3-6].

Use of inorganic fillers in composites is increasing. Fillers not only reduce the cost of composites, but also frequently impart performance improvements that might not o therwise be achieved by the reinforcement and resin ingredients alone. Fillers can imp rove mechanical properties including fire and smoke performance by reducing organic content in composite laminates. Also, filled resins shrink less than unfilled resins, thereby imp roving the dimensional stability of moulded parts. Important properties including water resistance, weathering, surface smoothness, stiffness, dimensional stability and temperature resistance, can all be improved through the proper use of fillers.

There are many applicat ions in which wear is a critical issue to know. Develop ment of Eg lass -Epo xy composite material with fillers has got increased emphasis for these purposes. Deng et al.[7] studied the self lubrication of

ceramic co mposites in sliding wear test and its machining processes and concluded that self-triboflim was consistently formed on the wear surface, and acts as a lubricating addit ive between the sliding couple.

Basavarajappa et al. [8] conducted dry sliding wear behaviour of graphite filled in g lass-epoxy composite and found that addition of Graphite in glass -epoxy co mposite exhib it low weight loss, whose value drops further when the content of the graphite in the composite is increased. Incorporation of Graphite particles in the alu miniu m matrix as a secondary reinforcement increases the wear resistance of the material [9]. The s mearing of the graphite and formation of protecting layer between the pin and the counter face enables in reducing the wear volu me loss.

In this present investigation an attempt is made to study the effect of silicon particles as a filler material in Eg lass Epo xy co mposite and the wear characteristics of this composite material were investigated using pin -on-disc test rig.

2.

Materials

Co mposite materials of different compositions are prepared for this study. 900 orientation woven E-g lass fiber of 400 gs m is used as the common reinforcement in all co mposite materials. Low tempera ture General purpose epoxy resin LY556 in combination with hardener as a matrix material and Silicon particles are used as a filler material .

3.

Composite fabricati on

The Co mposite material used for the study are processed by open mould hand lay -up with Co mpression process. 900 orientation woven E-glass fibers are reinforced in general purpose resign to prepare the composite. The composite without filler material is termed as Woven Mat Plain (WMP) . The castings are put under a load for about 24 hours for proper curing at room temperature. Specimens of suitable dimensions are cut for wear test. The other composite samples with Silicon particulate fillers of varying weight percentage are fabricated by the same technique. The fillers are mixed thoroughly in the general purpose resign then the woven glass fiber mats are reinforced in the matrix body. Co mposites WMS10 (woven mat with Si), WMS20 and WMS30, contain Si particles in 10 wt%, 20 wt% and 30 wt% proportions, respectively. The entire composite contain 50 wt% of woven E-g lass fibers in them and are as shown in table 1..

Table 1. Nomenclature of the fabricated composite material specimens.

Sl No. 1 2 3 4

Material No menclature WMP WMS10 WMS20 WMS 30

Matrix General Purpose Resign

E g lass

Silicon particulate in wt% 0 10 wt% 20 wt% 30 wt%

50 wt%

4.

Experi mentation

The test setup used in the investigation was pin-on-disk wear test apparatus. The test specimen is affixed to the holder. The surface comes in contact to the counter surface of EN31 hardened to 60HRc grounded to 1.6Ra surface roughness. The test was conducted as per the standards on a track of 90 mm d iameter for a specified duration with varying load, sliding distance and velocity. The surface of both the sample and the disk were cleaned with acetone. The in itial weight of the specimen was recorded using digital electronic balance of LC 0.0001 grams. The required loads were applied by placing known weights on the pan. The test was conducted by selecting the specific test duration and other parameters as shown in table 2. The specimens final weight was weighed and difference was taken as weight loss.
Table 2. Process parameters

Parameters Applied Load (N) Sliding Velocity (m/s) Sliding Distance (mm) 5. Results and Discussion.

Conditi on 20N, 40N, 60N and 80N 3.76, 4.7, 5.65 and 6.59 2260.8,2826,3391.2 and 3956.4

5.1 Effect of applied Load on wear characteristics. Fig.1 shows the variation of the weight loss with applied load. The load is varied keeping Slid ing Velocity and sliding Distance constant. The experimental data shows that weight loss is dropped in case of WMS20 as compared to other composite materials. As the applied load increases, the weight loss slightly decreases at 80 N.. The WMP specimen reviles poor wear performance when compared to Silicon filled Co mposite Materials. WMS30 shows a better performance towards wear at the load in between 50N to 70N, when co mpared to other specimens. The weight loss of the composite with silicon as filler was found to be marginally effected with the change in the applied load where as in the plain epo xy co mposite specimen the variat ion was substantial.

Fig 1. Variat ion of weight loss against applied load

At the maximu m applied load the matrix breaks away fro m the surface in WMP because of emb rittlment of the matrix. Matrix breaking is in brittle manner due to high heat generated on the counter surface, a large sized powder will come out. Due to this the fiber will co me in contact with the surface of disk, thus the breakage is more which leads to higher weight loss at maximu m load the same agrees with the investigation of S. Basavarajappa et. Al [8]. In the addition of silicon filler material the contact surface comes in contact with the filler either than the fiber. These fillers resist further wear.

5.2 Effect of sliding velocity on wear characteristics.

The wear rate variations of hybrid composite materials subject to applied load of 80 N as a function of sliding velocity is as shown in fig. 2. The investigation shows that the weight loss increase with the increase in sliding velocity. The Specimen without Silicon WMP possesses higher wear as compared to composite with Silicon particles filled co mposite materials.

Fig 2. Variat ion of Weight loss against Slid ing Velocity WMS20 co mposite exhib ited less weigth loss compared to other composite materials, as the Sliding velocity increases the weight loss decreases further the weight loss increases slightly. At the Sliding Velocity in between 5 m/s to 6.5 m/s the co mposite material with 20wt% silicon shows better result. 5.2 Effect of sliding distance on wear characteristics. Variation of weight loss for WMP and Silicon filled co mposites under various sliding distance keeping load constant is as shown in Fig.3. Weight loss was found to increase as the sliding distance increases. WMP s hows more weight loss when compared to Silicon filled composite materials. WMS20 possess good restance towards Wear. As the fille material increases to 30wt% the weight loss also increases.

Fig 3. Variat ion of weight olss against Slid ing Distance A decrease in weight loss is observed as the wt% of Silicon inreases form 10% to 30%. The weight loss in more at higher sliding distance and it increase drastically in between 3300 m and 4000m. This indicates that the transition fro m mild to severe weight loss occurs at higher sliding distance.

6.

Conclusions

Based on the investigation made the following conclusions are drawn. Silicon can be successfully used as filler materials for fabrication of Epo xy / Glass fiber based hybrid composites. With the addition of Silicon particulates in making the hybrid composite the wear strength of the composites improves. The WMS20 co mposite exhib it more imp rovement in weight loss compared to other composite materials as in case of WMS30 the matrix is ripped out of the sliding surface, thus the weight losss is more as the % of filler material increases. The influence of Silicon particles WMS30 as a 30 wt% filler material in epoxy e-glass composite material exhibits maximu m weight loss at the load in between 50N to 70N. The Silicon particles have a significant influence on the weight loss up to 20 wt%, taking slid ing distance as a parameter in co mposites. As the filler material increases, the wear resistance of the composite material increases. The comparison between Silicon particles filled epo xy e-glass composite laminate and plain epoxy e-glass composite laminate shows, the wear rate of p lain epo xy eg lass composite laminate is higher than that of particles filled epoxy e-glass composite laminates. Therefore, observed differen ce in wear rate behavior of

these composite laminates reveals that Silicon particles as a filler material in epo xy eglass composite laminate resist the removal of the material fro m the surface, which improves the resistance of wear rate. References
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