Friction and wear analysis of a cement kiln dust- reinforced epoxy-based functionally graded materials

Abstract

The wear behaviour of new material epoxy matrix homogeneous composites and its functionally graded materials reinforced with uniform-sized cement kiln dust (CKD) is discussed in this article. The tribological behaviour of CKD particulate-reinforced homogeneous and graded epoxy composites synthesized by simple mechanical stirring and vertical centrifugal casting techniques, respectively, is investigated. Mechanical properties of graded and homogeneous composites are evaluated and compared. Sliding wear tests are performed over a range of sliding velocities (105–314 cm/s), normal loads (20–40 N), filler contents (0–20 wt%), and sliding distances (0.5–2 km) using a pin-on-disc machine. A statistics-based design of experiments approach using Taguchi's orthogonal arrays is used. This study establishes that the presence of CKD particles enhances the sliding wear resistance of graded composites. Out of all synthesized composites 10 wt% graded composite exhibits the maximum impact strength which clearly indicates that the effect of the fabrication technique is much more pronounced for impact strength. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microstructures confirm the continuous graded dispersion of CKD particles in the matrix.