Investigation on tribo-characteristics of Calotropis gigantea fiber-reinforced-CNT modified polymer composites

• Published in: Polymer bulletin (Berlin, Germany) Vol. 79; no. 2; pp. 697 - 707
• Main Authors: Dwivedi, Umesh K., Singh, Shikha, Shukla, Satish Chandra, Hashmi, S. A. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.02.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adhesive wear; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Coefficient of friction; Complex Fluids and Microfluidics; Composite materials; Cotton; Fiber composites; Fiber reinforced polymers; Friction; Mechanical properties; Multi wall carbon nanotubes; Organic Chemistry; Original Paper; Phenolic resins; Photomicrographs; Physical Chemistry; Polyesters; Polymer matrix composites; Polymer Sciences; Polymers; Soft and Granular Matter; Tensile strength; Wear mechanisms; Wear rate; India; Reinforcement; MWCNT; Friction; Phenolic resin; Wear
• ISSN: 0170-0839; 1436-2449
• DOI: 10.1007/s00289-020-03532-6

This study included the preparation and tribo-characterization of Calotropis gigantea (CG) fiber reinforced CNT modified phenolic resin composites. Composites were prepared with varying contents (0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 wt%) of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) in phenolic resin, which was reinforced with CG fiber. The prepared composites were tested for their adhesive wear and frictional behavior at different applied loads (up to 100 N) against EN-31 steel disk on a standard pin-on-disk tribometer. The results revealed that addition of MWCNT enhanced the pressure–velocity (PV) limit significantly and reduced the value of friction coefficient of CG-fiber-reinforced phenolic resin composite. The friction coefficient decreases with increasing applied load. The wear rate significantly depends on MWCNT contents. The contact temperature of sliding surfaces increased with increasing applied load. The worn surfaces were analyzed and discussed to understand the wear mechanism involved with the help of SEM micrographs.