Investigation of tribological properties of biomass developed porous nano activated carbon composites

Abstract

Activated carbons are materials with versatile properties but have not been demonstrated as reinforcements in polymer composites. In the current study, the porous nano activated carbon materials are synthesized from waste biomass (Arhar stalks) and utilized as reinforcements in the fabrication of epoxy composites with 1% wt, 2% wt, and 3% wt filler loadings. Porous nano activated carbon epoxy composites were studied for their erosion and abrasive wear properties. Erosion wear rate at different impact angles (30°, 45°, 60° and 90°) and impact velocities (i.e., 101 m/s, 119 m/s and 148 m/s) studied. It is observed that reinforcement of porous nano activated carbon in epoxy composites enhanced the wear resistance of composites by 106% with 1% inclusion of activated carbon. Minimum wear rate was noticed in 2% filler composites which have almost three times more resistance then epoxy polymer. Irrespective of percentage of filler loadings, all the composites exhibited semi ductile erosion wear behavior with maximum wear rate at 45° impact angle. Sliding wear analysis performed at various loads on different abrasive surfaces suggests 2% wt activated carbon epoxy composites have better abrasive wear resistance with least material loss on P800 abrasive surface. Eroded composites surfaces were examined microscopically and the wear mechanisms of the composites are discussed in detail.