Wear and mechanical properties of Nylon 66–Al2O3 microcomposite

Abstract

Composite of Nylon 66 with different proportions of microparticle Al2O3 were made by compounding on a twin screw extruder. The sliding wear and mechanical properties of the resulting microcomposite of 2 to 8 wt.% Nylon 66–Al2O3 were investigated. The study of sliding wear under different loads, velocity and sliding distance combinations was done using pin-on-disk equipment. The results show that wear rate reduces with addition of microparticles and lowest wear is exhibited by 2 wt.% Al2O3–Nylon 66 composite. The lowest friction coefficient is also observed for 2 wt.% Al2O3-Nylon 66 composite and the value increases with increasing load, sliding velocity and sliding distance. The mechanical properties such as flexural strength and modulus, tensile strength and modulus, compressive and impact strength improved with the addition of alumina and maximum values are observed for 6 wt.% composite. The heat deflection temperature of the microcomposite increased with increasing weight % of alumina. Scanning electron microscopy images of the worn surfaces were examined to understand the wear mechanism. The improved mechanical and tribological properties of Nylon 66–Al2O3 composite will enhance the application of plain Nylon 66.