Abrasive Size and Fiber Direction Effects on the Wear Behaviour of CFRP Composite under Rotary Abrasion

Abstract

Rotary wear tests were performed on unidirectional graphite fiber reinforced epoxy to study the effect of fiber orientation and abrasive particle size on the wear resistance and mechanism of the graphite/epoxy polymer composite. The tests were performed at a constant load of 1250 grams for 10000 cycles with abrasive particle sizes of 15 and 55 μm using Taber rotary platform abrasion tester. The surface topology and material removed along the wear track were obtained for a range of fiber orientations. The surface roughness was found to decrease as the fiber orientation increased from 0° to 90°. Negative skewness indicated the presence of numerous valleys on the surface. These variations in the surface roughness parameters were more pronounced for higher particle size of 55 μm. Maximum wear occurred at 135°. Further, the wear mechanism and type of damage were identified through SEM micrographs. Distinct damage could be identified at 0°, 45° and 90°.