Influence of particle size, applied load, and fibre orientation on 3B-A wear and frictional behaviour of epoxy composite based on kenaf fibres

The current work aims to investigate the effect of sand particle size, applied load, and kenaf fibre orientation on the three-body abrasion wear behaviour of epoxy composite subjected to high stress. Experiments were conducted using a dry sand/steel wheel apparatus at different applied loads (5-20 N). The tests were performed at a rotational speed of 100 rpm (corresponding to 1.152 m/s) for 300 s test duration. The sizes of the sand particles were 370-390 mu m, 650-750 mu m, and 1200-1400 mu m with a fixed flowrate of 4.5 g/s. The composite was tested in three different orientations, namely parallel, anti-parallel, and normal (P-O, AP-O, and N-O). Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the damage features on the worn surfaces of the composite. The results revealed that the fibre orientation highly influenced the wear and frictional behaviour of the composite. In N-O, the wear and frictional performance were better when compared to the other orientations. The wear mechanism was predominated by detachment and breakage of fibres, fracture, and defragmentation in the epoxy regions when the composite was tested in P-and AP-O. Meanwhile, micro-cracks on the end of the fibres are the pronounced wear mechanism in the KFRE tested in N-O.