Hybrid reinforcing effect of multi-scale short carbon fibers on the wear resistance of PTFE composites: Self-reconstruction and stress transmission

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanical properties and tribological behavior of multi-scale hybrid short carbon fibers (SCFs)-reinforced polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites. The optimization of 0.5 mm SCFs (SSCFs) and 400 mesh SCFs (LSCFs) ratios was studied based on the representative volume element (RVE) model. The experimental results show that the specific wear rate of the composite is reduced by 91.1% and 93.3% respectively compared to the addition of SSCFs and LSCFs alone. Electron microscopy and surface SCFs cross-sectional area characterizations reveal that the internal LSCFs effectively transfer stress to improve the mechanical properties of the composites, and the self-orientation and enrichment (self-reconstruction) of SSCFs on the friction surface together lead to outstanding wear resistance of the composites.