A study on erosive wear analysis of glass fiber-epoxy-AlN hybrid composites

Aluminum nitride reinforced glass fiber epoxy resin composite was prepared by simple hand lay-up technique and its mechanical as well as erosion wear behavior were investigated. The interactive influence of various operational variables on specific wear behavior of composite materials has been studied thoroughly. It was observed that with increasing percentage of filler particles, there is a decline in tensile strength, but there is a significant improvement in hardness and erosion wear performance. Among all the factors, impact velocity is the most significant factor followed by filler percentage and impingement angle, while temperature has the least significance on erosion of the hybrid composite. Taguchi's orthogonal arrays were used to identify the controlling factors influencing the erosion wear rate. Scanning electron microscopy studies were conducted to understand the erosion mechanism involved during the material removal process.