The effects of graphene nanoplatelets on the tribological performance of glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites

Abstract

Over the last decade, FRP composites have seen increased use in many applications, where an optimum combination of light-weight, better wear resistance and excellent mechanical properties have attributed to their uses in different engineering segments. In this study, Mechanical and tribological properties of woven glass fiber-reinforced epoxy (GFRE) composites with and without graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were obtained and correlated. The results of the unmodified GFRE laminates (neat GFRE samples) were compared with those containing 0.5 and 1 wt. % of GNPs (modified samples). Wear resistance of the GFRE composite samples increased with an increase in the GNPs content in the epoxy matrix as obtained by experiments conducted on the Pin-on-disc tribometer. Wear tests showed a considerable reduction in wear rate from 4.54 × 10−11 m3/Nm (neat GFRE) to the lowest value of 2.31 × 10−11 m3/Nm, by adding 1 wt.% GNPs. Further, it was observed that the addition of 0.5 and 1.0 wt. % of GNPs in the base material lowered the coefficient of friction (µ) by about 4% and 18%, respectively, for abrading distance of 200 m, due to the self-lubricating nature of GNPs. The wear mechanisms and transfer film formation were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis.

Experimental investigation on mechanical and wear properties of GNP/Carbon fiber/epoxy hybrid composites

“…The abrasive wear performance [19,26] of different composites was investigated using a pin-on-disc machine using waterproof SiC (400 grits size) paper from DUCOM, Bangalore, India. A diamond cutter was utilized to cut 10 mm × 10 mm square specimens from composite laminates for wear testing according to the ASTM G99 standard.…”

“…These studies revealed that functional fillers such as carbon nanofiller and inorganic nanofillers significantly impact wear characteristics. Many different model of wear calculated wear rate as a function of weight percent of filler, mechanical qualities, normal load, etc [25][26][27]. The previous wear models and experimental investigations have one major flaw: they do not account for the impact of specific parameters on composite abrasive wear.…”

Tribological behaviour of SiC and AL2O3 filled glass-epoxy composite

“…34 This is because the presence of filler particles acted as spacers (surface modifier) which acts as adhesion between the contact surface interface. [39][40][41][42][43][44][45]…”

Optimization of dry sliding wear behavior of epoxy nanocomposites under different conditions

“…According to these investigations, functional fillers have a considerable impact on wear characteristics. Many various wear models determined wear as a function of filler, average load, and other factors [20][21][22]. The conventional and Taguchi approaches can both be used to look into the impact of specific factors on single response situation optimization.…”