Experiment numerical study of dry sliding wear behavior of epoxy/periwinkles shell particulate composites

Abstract

The tribological behavior of epoxy polymer composites reinforced with periwinkle shell particles was studied using a pin-on-disc wear rig under dry sliding conditions. Uncarbonized (UPSp) and carbonized (CPSp) periwinkle shell particle was used in the production of the composites at 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40wt%. The influences of wear parameters like applied load, sliding speed and percentage of periwinkle shell particles addition on the wear rate were investigated. A plan of experiments was performed to acquire data in a controlled way. Scanning electron microscope was used to analyze the worn surface of the samples. Linear regression equation and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to investigate the influence of process parameters on the wear rate of the samples. The carbonized (CPSp) composites have a higher wear resistance than the uncarbonized (UPSp) composites. The predicted wear rate of the epoxy and it composites were found to lie close to that experimentally observed ones. The confirmation of the experiments conduct using ANOVA to verify the optimal testing parameters shows that periwinkle shell particles, sliding speed and applied load had a significant effect on the wear rate. The results show that the addition of periwinkle shell particles as reinforcing materials in epoxy composites increases the wear resistance of the composite greatly.