Solid Particle Erosion of Date Palm Leaf Fiber Reinforced Polyvinyl Alcohol Composites

Abstract

Solid particle erosion behavior of short date palm leaf (DPL) fiber reinforced polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite has been studied using silica sand particles (200 ± 50 μm) as an erodent at different impingement angles (15–90°) and impact velocities (48–109 m/s). The influence of fiber content (wt% of DPL fiber) on erosion rate of PVA/DPL composite has also been investigated. The neat PVA shows maximum erosion rate at 30° impingement angle whereas PVA/DPL composites exhibit maximum erosion rate at 45° impingement angle irrespective of fiber loading showing semiductile behavior. The erosion efficiency of PVA and its composites varies from 0.735 to 16.289% for different impact velocities studied. The eroded surfaces were observed under scanning electron microscope (SEM) to understand the erosion mechanism.