Testing of Polymer Composites for Manufacturing of Sprayer Nozzles

• Published in: Polymers Vol. 16; no. 4; p. 496
• Main Authors: Slavkina, Victoria E, Mirzaev, Maksim A, Kuzmin, Anton M, Kutyrev, Alexey I, Tuzhilin, Sergey P, Denisov, Vyacheslav A, Kataev, Yuriy V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 10.02.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Abrasion resistance; Abrasion resistant steels; Abrasive wear; Agricultural production; agricultural sprayer; chemical resistance; Composite materials; Corrosion resistance; Crops; disperse fillers; Fillers; Friction; Graphite; Heat resistance; hydroabrasive wear; Insecticides; Manufacturing; Molybdenum; nozzle; Nozzles; Pesticides; Polymer matrix composites; Polymeric composites; Polymers; polyoxymethylene; Properties; Silicon carbide; Stainless steel; Stainless steels; Testing; Wear resistance; Russia; France; United States > US; nozzle; viscosity; chemical resistance; agricultural sprayer; hydroabrasive wear; polyoxymethylene; disperse fillers
• ISSN: 2073-4360; 2073-4360
• DOI: 10.3390/polym16040496

Wear is the leading cause of nozzle failure. The durability of the nozzle is affected by the material it is made from. Traditional materials are ceramics, stainless steel, brass, and polymers. One of the possible ways to improve the wear resistance of polymer nozzles is through the incorporation of dispersed fillers into them. This paper presents the results of testing polymer composites for their chemical resistance to pesticides, examining the effects of different types and amounts of fillers on the chemical and abrasion resistance. When silicon carbide was used as a filler, the strength increased by 30.2%. The experiments on chemical resistance to pesticides revealed that the nature, shape, and volume content of filler particles do not significantly affect the resistance of the compounds obtained. Tests on hydro-abrasive wear have shown that graphite and silicon carbide are effective fillers capable of reducing wear by up to 7.5 times. Based on previous research, it is recommended to use a composite compound with 15% volume of silicon carbide for nozzle manufacturing.