Erosion wear behavior of coir fiber-reinforced epoxy composites filled with Al2O3 filler

Abstract

Now-a-days, natural fibers have been receiving considerable attention as the substitute for synthetic fiber reinforcement in plastics. Among various fibers, coir is the most widely used natural fiber due to its advantages like easy availability, low cost, low density, low production cost and satisfactory mechanical properties. Fiber-reinforced polymer composites often have to function in severe erosive environment in which they encounter solid particle erosion. To this end, an attempt has been made in this paper not only to study the utilization potential of coir fiber in polymer composites, but also to study the effect of various parameters on erosion wear performance of coir fiber-reinforced epoxy composites filled with Al2O3 filler. Twenty different composite samples were prepared with different length (3 mm, 6 mm, 9 mm, 12 mm, and 15 mm) and content (5 wt%, 10 wt%, 15 wt% and 20 wt%) of fiber using hand lay-up technique. The erosion wear of these composites has been evaluated at different impingement angles (30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°) and at different impact velocities (48 m/s, 70 m/s, 82 m/s, and 109 m/s). The effect of fiber length and content on the erosion wear behavior of composites is also analyzed. A comparison has been made between composites with and without Al2O3 filler. It has been observed that composites filled with Al2O3 filler show better wear resistance properties as compared to composites without filler. To characterize the morphology of eroded surfaces and the mode of material removal, the eroded specimens are observed under scanning electron microscope.