Erosion wear analysis of coconut shell dust filled epoxy composites using computational fluid dynamics and Taguchi method

Abstract

This article depicts the solid particle erosion wear behavior of the coconut shell dust-filled epoxy composites. The erosion wear behavior of the composites is evaluated by a solid erosion test rig according to Taguchi’s design-of-experiment approach. The experiments are carried out by both sand and Al₂O₃ erodent. The study shows that the inclusion of coconut shell dust improves the erosion behavior of epoxy resin. The wear behavior analysis also reveals that erodent size, angle of impingement (B), and impact velocity (C) are the most significant factors in that sequence that influence the erosion rate of the composites. Further, computational fluid dynamics analysis (CFD) is implemented to study the temperature and velocity gradient of the composites under an erosive environment. The experimental results are validated with CFD simulation results, and both values are found to be in better agreement.