Abstract
This study for the first time evaluated quantitatively the effect of carbon nanofibre (CNF) reinforcement on tribological properties of epoxy nanocomposites. Nanocomposites containing 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 wt% CNF were fabricated by casting technique after dispersing CNFs in epoxy resin by ultrasonication and mechanical stirring. Sliding and abrasive wear were investigated using a pin-on-disc apparatus and evaluated statistically for the effect of CNF reinforcement by one-way ANOVA. Sliding wear test revealed that CNF content significantly affected specific wear rate but not frictional coefficient. Reinforcement with 0.5 to 2.5 wt% CNF reduced the specific wear rate compared to the control (neat epoxy). However, specific wear rate was increased at 3.0 wt% CNF. Abrasive wear test showed that CNF reinforcement causes numerical decrease in wear rate but the effect was statistically non-significant. Surface morphology was investigated by SEM to obtain the possible wear mechanism of the nanocomposites.
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