In the present article, an investigation is presented on epoxy-based composites where the discontinuous phases are microsized boron nitride and sisal fiber (SF). Both the reinforcing materials are surface modified before incorporating them into the epoxy matrix. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) surface is treated by silane-coupling agent, whereas the aqueous NaOH solution is used to modify the surface of SF. The effect of fillers on the physical, mechanical, thermal, and dielectric properties of hybrid composites is studied through experimentation. The result shows that the inclusion of hBN increases the thermal conductivity of epoxy appreciably and dielectric constant marginally, while the inclusion of SF reduces the thermal conductivity marginally and dielectric constant appreciably. The maximum thermal conductivity of 1.88 W/m-K is obtained for the combination of 30 wt% hBN and 3 wt% SF. For the same combination, the dielectric constant is 4.57 at 1 GHz, which is almost similar to neat epoxy. Also, other properties like compressive strength, hardness, glasstransition temperature, and coefficient of thermal expansion improve when combinations of ceramic filler and natural fiber were incorporated in the epoxy matrix. Due to outstanding comprehensive properties, epoxy/hBN/SF composites found potential application in wide microelectronic applications.

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The present study is an endeavor to investigate the wear and friction behavior of Ti6Al4V against alumina (Al2O3) using a pin-on-disc tribometer at room temperature. The tests were performed for a given range of loads (10–90 N) and sliding velocities (0.5–4 m/s) for a sliding distance of 3000 m. The wear rate increased continuously with load and showed transition behavior with respect to the sliding velocity. Minimum friction was observed at the intermediate sliding velocities. Using the Taguchi tool, it was found that the load influenced the wear rate more significantly than the sliding velocity and the behavior was the opposite for the coefficient of friction. A wear model was predicted using regression, and subsequent confirmatory tests were carried out to validate the same. The ex-situ characterization of both worn-out surfaces and wear debris was conducted using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) along with the Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy (EDS) to study the surface morphology and level of oxidation, respectively. The wear mechanism was found to be a combination of adhesion, abrasion, oxidation, and delamination wear. The distinct lower wear rates at higher loads and velocities were attributed to the formation of Ti8O15 revealed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) study.