Optimization of High Stress Abrasive Wear of Polymer Blend Ethylene and Vinyl Acetate Copolymer/HDPE/MA-g-PE/OMMT Nanocomposites

Abstract

High stress (two-body) abrasive wear behavior of maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (MA-g-PE) compatibilized ethylene and vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA)/high-density polyethylene (HDPE) polymer blend added with organophilic montmorillonite nanoclay in increasing quantity (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 phr) has been evaluated in this study. Comparative volume losses and specific wear rates of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) using two-body abrasion tester are discussed. Specific abrasive wear rate is optimized under different loads and sliding distances with different abrasive grade papers as per Taguchi L18 orthogonal array. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is employed to determine the significance of factors influencing wear. Confirmation experiments are performed to predict and verify the improvement in observed values with the optimal combination level of control factors. It is observed that maximum wear volume loss and specific wear rate occur at 10 N load and 8 m sliding distance in all polymer nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images are used to analyze wear mechanisms under different experimental conditions.