Experimental investigation of three-body abrasive wear behavior of rice husk filled polylactic acid (PLA) composites

Abstract

Investigation of three-body abrasive wear behavior of rice husk-filled Polylactic acid (PLA) composites of different weight percentages of 90/10, 80/20, and 70/30 and compared with the pure PLA. The experiments were carried in accordance with the ASTM G65 by using a rubber wheel abrasion tester (RWAT). The experiments were conducted for a load of 9.81, 29.46, and 49.65 N at an abrading distance of 300 m using 106microns abrasive dry Silica sand particles as a third body. The results of the experimental study revealed that the weight loss increases with an increase in applied load and wear resistance increases with an increase in fiber content in PLA composites. The greater wear resistance occurred at 30 wt% of rice husk fiber in the composite. With the help of a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), the worn surfaces are analyzed.