Influence of SiC Filler on Mechanical and Tribological Behavior of Glass Fabric Reinforced Epoxy Composite Systems

Abstract

The performance of filled fiber reinforced polymer composites is generally determined on the basis of the interface attraction of filler, fiber, and polymer. In the present investigation, the effects of SiC particles as fillers in glass—epoxy (G—E) composite systems on the mechanical and tribological properties have been discussed. The composites employed in the present study have been fabricated using hand lay-up technique. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break, flexural strength, and hardness have been investigated in accordance with ASTM standards. From the experimental investigation, it was found that the mechanical properties of the G—E composite increased with the inclusion of SiC filler. The dry slide wear test results of SiC-G—E composite show lower slide wear losses irrespective of the load/sliding velocity when compared to G—E composite. Some of these observations are supplemented by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observations. Further, wear of the matrix, breakage of reinforcing fibers, matrix debris formation, and interface separation were observed. SEM microphotographs of the tensile fractured samples revealed the typical aspects of the fractured surfaces. The failure modes of the tensile fractured surfaces were evaluated and showed good agreement with the literature.