Specific Wear Rate of Kenaf Epoxy Composite and Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) Epoxy Composite in Dry Sliding

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental investigation carried out to compare specific wear rate and surface morphology between two types of natural fibres namely kenaf and oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB). Kenaf fibres were received in long fiber size and OPEFB in different sizes (100, 125, 180 and 250 μm). Both materials were mixed with the epoxy resin to produce epoxy composites. Wear tests were carried out using Abrasion Resistance Tester in dry sliding condition. These tests were performed at room temperature for different loads and at a constant sliding velocity of 1.4m/s. Based on the results, the specific wear rate of Kenaf Fibre composite starts to converge to one similar value beyond 6km distance. In the case of OPEFB epoxy composite, it was found the fiber size of 100 um has produced the highest specific wear rate.