9 - Durability of composites in relation to wear and erosion

Abstract

The wear of fiber–polymer composites is an important durability issue in the design and materials selection of civil infrastructure. Wear is usually not considered important in civil engineering structures built from traditional construction materials such as steel and concrete because of their good wear resistance. However, composites are more susceptible to wear and therefore wear performance must be a key consideration in the design of new structures. Examples of excessive wear to civil composite structures are rare because polymer composites are not often used in components prone to gouging, abrasion or erosion. The current applications of composites are situations where wear is not usually a problem. A major challenge in determining the durability of composites is that their wear resistance is not a simple or intrinsic material property, like elastic modulus, strength, and fracture toughness. Instead, wear resistance is dependent on many factors, including the mechanical and physical properties of the composite, the contact conditions between the composite and mating material, the relative movements between the mating materials, the environmental conditions, and the wear mechanisms.