Dry sliding wear behavior of SiC/Al2O3 filled jute/epoxy composites

The effect of ceramic fillers like SiC and Al2O3 on wear behavior of jute/epoxy composite has been experimentally investigated. The laminates of jute/epoxy composites with fillers in 5%, 10% and 15% based on weight of resin were prepared using hand layup technique. The dry sliding wear tests were conducted using pin-on-disc wear test machine. Tests were conducted for a constant sliding distance of 1800 m and a track radius of 50 mm. For each composition, wear tests were conducted for different sliding velocities (3 m/s, 4.5 m/s and 6 m/s) by applying normal loads of 30 N, 40 N and 50 N. The wear loss and coefficient of friction were plotted against the normal load and sliding velocity for composites with both types of fillers. The results reveal that incorporation of fillers leads to significant improvement in the wear resistance of jute/epoxy composite. It is observed that Al2O3 filled composite has better wear resistant than SiC filled. Worn surfaces of selected samples were sputter coated with a thin layer of gold and then subjected to scanning electron microscopy to analyze the mechanism of wear. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.