Solid Particle Erosive Wear Behaviour of Eulaliopsis Binata Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite

Abstract

In this investigation a new unexplored potential non-wood natural fiber, eulaliopsis binata (short fiber) is taken as reinforcement with epoxy as matrix material to examine the potential of the fiber as a reinforcement material. The incorporation of short eulaliopsis binata (sabai) fiber with different weight percentage (10,20,30,40) contributed towards enhancement of the tribological properties of the composite. The erosion wear behavior of composites was carried out by air jet erosion test apparatus with four different impingement angles (30º,45º,60º and 90º) and at four different impact velocities (48,70,82 and 109 m/s). The experimented composite showed semi-ductile erosion wear behavior with maximum wear rate at 45º impingement angle at lower velocities and maximum wear rate at 60º at higher velocities. The morphology and damage mechanism of eroded surfaces indicate failure of the composite due to micro cutting and micro-ploughing.