Implementation of Taguchi Method for Tribo-Performance of Hybrid Composites

Abstract

This paper investigates the solid particle erosion wear performance of a multi component hybrid composite consisting of polyester, glass fibers and alumina particles. A mathematical model developed for damage assessment in semi-ductile erosion mode is validated by a well designed set of experiments. For this, the design of experiments approach using Taguchi’s orthogonal arrays is used. The study reveals that glass-polyester composite without any filler suffers greater erosion loss than the hybrid composite with alumina filling. Significant control factors and their interactions that influence the wear rate are identified. Finally, optimal factor settings are determined using genetic algorithm