Filler plays a major role in determining the properties and behavior of particulate composites. In this study a series of glass fiber reinforced polyester composites are fabricated using flyash, aluminum oxide (Al 2O3) and silicon carbide (SiC) particles as filler materials. The effects of these three different ceramics on the mechanical properties of glass—polyester composites are investigated. Comparative analysis shows that with the incorporation of these fillers, the tensile strength of the composites decrease significantly. The flexural properties, interlaminar shear strength, density and hardness are also affected by the type and content of filler particles. It is found that the presence of SiC improves the hardness of the glass—polyester composites, whereas the other two fillers show marginal effect. The study reveals that the reduction in tensile strength is the minimum in case of flyash among all the fillers. Further, the composite with low flyash content (10 wt%) exhibits improved flexural strength. It is thus interesting to find that an industrial waste-like flyash shows better filler characteristics compared to those of alumina and SiC. Moreover, being cheap and easily available, it would hopefully provide a cost effective solution to composite manufacturers.

This paper investigates the solid particle erosion wear performance of a multi component hybrid composite consisting of polyester, glass fibers and alumina particles. A mathematical model for damage assessment in erosion is developed and validated by a well designed set of experiments. For this, the design of experiments approach using Taguchi's orthogonal arrays is used. The study reveals that glass-polyester composite without any filler suffers greater erosion loss than the hybrid composite with alumina filling. Significant control factors and their interactions that influence the wear rate are identified. Finally, optimal factor settings are determined using genetic algorithm.

With the increased use of fiber/filler-reinforced polymer composites in erosive work environments, it has become extremely important to investigate their erosion characteristics intensively. This article describes the development of a multi-component composite system consisting of thermoplastic polyester resin reinforced with E-glass fiber and SiC particles, and studies its erosion behavior under different operating conditions. A room temperature erosion test facility and Taguchi's orthogonal arrays are used for experimentation. It identifies significant control factors influencing the erosion wear and also outlines significant interaction effects. Finally, optimal factor settings for minimum wear rate have been determined using a genetic algorithm.

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The improved performance of polymer-based hybrid composites in tribological applications has recently been a subject of considerable interest. A hybrid composite consists of the matrix reinforced with both fibers and particulate fillers. Alumina has the potential to be used as filler in such a multi-component system. This article investigates the effect of alumina filling on the erosion wear performance of glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites. For this purpose, an air jet type erosion test configuration and the design of experiment approach utilizing Taguchi's orthogonal arrays are used. Taguchi's design eliminates the need for repeated experiments; thus saving time, materials, and cost. The systematic experimentation leads to identifying significant factors and their interactions that predominantly influence the erosion wear. Pure glass-polyester composite without filler shows greater erosion rate whereas a significant improvement in the erosion resistance is observed with alumina fillers. This may be due to restriction of fiber-matrix debonding. The morphologies of the eroded surface are examined by a scanning electron microscope. Finally, optimal factor settings for minimum wear rate have been determined using genetic algorithm.