DRY SLIDING WEAR BEHAVIOUR OF CARBON NANOTUBE/ALUMINA/EPOXY HYBRID NANOCOMPOSITES

Ramkumar R; Sabarinathan C; Rajeswaran M; Prathap P; Sankar Ganesh R

doi:10.17222/mit.2023.1068

Ramkumar R Department of Mechanical Engineering, St Xaviers Polytechnic College, Sivgangai, Tamil Nadu 630302, India
Sabarinathan C Department of Automobile Engineering, Hindusthan College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641032, India
Rajeswaran M Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Krishna College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641042, India
Prathap P Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Krishna College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641042, India
Sankar Ganesh R Department of Automobile Engineering, Hindusthan College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641032, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17222/mit.2023.1068

Keywords: wear, epoxy, MWCNTs, alumina, morphology analysis

Abstract

In the field of materials science, polymer composites have been extensively used in various industries such as marine, automotive, aerospace, sports and other industries due to their good dimensional stability and excellent structural properties. In this present research investigation, epoxy served as the polymer material, while multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and alumina nanofillers were employed for reinforcing the matrix through hybridization. The wear characteristics of the composite material were examined under dry sliding conditions, employing a pin-on-disc machine with a track diameter of 50 mm. The load on the specimen was varied between low (20 N), medium (40 N) and high (60 N), while the weight fraction of the hybrid nanofillers underwent variations in a range of 0.1–0.5 w/% with an increment of 0.1 w/%. The results showed that the reinforcement of hybrid nanofillers significantly reduces the wear phenomena of the composite material. Hybrid nanocomposites with (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) w/% of MWCNTs-Al₂O₃ exhibit noteworthy advancements in the wear resistance. Particularly the 0.3 w/% MWCNTs-Al₂O₃ hybrid nanocomposite demonstrates exceptional wear resistance compared to pure epoxy. The incorporation of 0.3 w/% of MWCNTs-Al₂O₃ results in a significantly improved wear resistance, with enhancements of (83, 81 and 80) % observed during low (20 N), moderate (40 N) and high (60 N) loading conditions, respectively, compared to pure epoxy. Similarly, deformation, delamination and filler plugging were observed with medium and high load. The surface morphology of the worn specimens was assessed through the application of field emission scanning electron microscopy.

References

1 A. Bisht, R. M. Kumar, K. Dasgupta, D. Lahiri, Spatial distribution of nanodiamond and its effect on mechanical behaviour of epoxy based composite using 2D modulus mapping, Mech. Mater., 135 (2019), 114–128, doi: 10.1016/j.mechmat.2019.05.008
2 T. Hooshmand, A. Abrishamchian, F. Najafi, M. Mohammadi, H. Najafi, M. Tahriri, Development of sol-gel-derived multi-wall carbon nanotube/hydroxyapatite nanocomposite powders for bone substitution, J. Compos. Mater., 48 (2013) 4, 483-489, doi: 10.1177/0021998313475368
3 R. Paul, K. Gouda, S. Bhowmik, Effect of different constraint on tribological behaviour of natural fibre/filler reinforced polymeric composites: a review, Silicon, 13 (2021), 2785–807, doi: 10.1007/s12633-020-00613
4 M. Haghgoo, R. Ansari, M. K. Hassanzadeh-Aghdam, Prediction of electrical conductivity of carbon fiber-carbon nanotube-reinforced polymer hybrid composites. Compos. B Eng., 167 (2019), 728–735, doi: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2019.03.046
5 M.K. Hassanzadeh-Aghdam, R. Ansari, Thermomechanical investigation of unidirectional carbon fiber-polymer hybrid composites containing CNTs, Int. J. Mech. Mater. Des., 15 (1019), 471– 488, doi: 0.1007/s10999-018-9418-5
6 A. Naderi, S. Mazinani, S. J. Ahmadi, M. Sohrabian, R. Arasteh, Modified thermo-physical properties of phenolic resin/carbon fiber composite with nano zirconium dioxide. J. Therm. Anal. Calorim., 117 (2014), 393– 401, doi: 10.1007/s10973-014-3742-2
7 D.K. Rathore, R.K Prusty, D.S. Kumar, B.C. Ray, Mechanical performance of CNT-filled glass fiber/epoxy composite in in-situ elevated temperature environments emphasizing the role of CNT content, Compos. Appl. Sci. Manuf., 84 (2016), 364 – 376, doi: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2016.02.020
8 F.H. Gojny, M.H. Wichmann, B. Fiedler, K. Schulte, Influence of different carbon nanotubes on the mechanical properties of epoxy matrix composites–a comparative study, Compos. Sci. Technol., 65 (2005), 2300–2313, doi: 10.1016/j.compscitech.2005.04.021
9 M. Sarafrazi, M. Hamadanian, A.R. Ghasemi, Optimize epoxy matrix with RSM/CCD method and influence of multi-wall carbon nanotube on mechanical properties of epoxy/polyurethane, Mech. Mater., 138 (2019), 103154, doi: 10.1016/j.mechmat.2019.103154
10 P.N. Karthikeyan, B. Ganesh Babu, C. Sabarinathan, J. Manikandan, Tribological performance of carbon nanotubes-alumina hybrid/epoxy composites, Optoelectron. Adv. Mater., 9 (2015), 3-4, 455 – 459
11 I. Ahmad, A. Kennedy, Y.Q. Zhu, Wear resistant properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes reinforced Al2O3 nanocomposites, Wear 269 (2010), 71–78, doi: 10.1016/j.wear.2010.03.009
12 A.S.K. Sahu, N.D. Badgayan, P.S. Rama, Understanding the influence of contact pressure on the wear performance of HDPE/multi-dimensional carbon filler based hybrid polymer nanocomposites, Wear, 438-439 (2019), 102824, doi: 10.1016/j.wear.2019.01.125
13 S. Lin, A.S.A. Muhammad, Y. Zhou, A. Sinha, L. Carson, H.E. Naguib, Evaluation of the thermal, mechanical and dynamic mechanical characteristics of modified graphite nanoplatelets and graphene oxide high-density polyethylene composites, Compos. B. Eng., 132 (2018), 61 – 68, doi: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2017.08.010
14 J. Tian, X. Qi, C. Li, G. Xian, Friction behaviors and wear mechanisms of multi-filler reinforced epoxy composites under dry and wet conditions: Effects of loads, sliding speeds, temperatures, water lubrication, Tribol. Int., 179 (2023), 108148, doi: 10.1016/j.triboint.2022.108148
15 Y. Zhou, M. Liu, Y. Wang, J. Yuan, X. Men, Significance of constructed MXene@Ag hybrids for enhancing the mechanical and tribological performance of epoxy composites, Tribol. Int., 165 (2022) 107328, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2021.107328