The Wear of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyester Composite Materials at Different Loads and Speeds

Abstract

Glass fiber reinforced polyester (GFRP) materials which are polymer matrix composites have some properties such as high specific strength, excellent elasticity, low weight, high corrosion resistance, high chemical resistance and high thermal stability. One of most important causes of failure of mechanical parts is wear. It is a surface property that can be reduced by changing the surface chemistries of the materials and microstructures. For this reason GFRP materials should be investigated not only for their mechanical properties but also for their tribological behaviours. The aim of this study is investigation of effects of different fillers and resins materials on adhesive wear properties of GFRP at different loads and speeds. In the sample production, different resins (reactive orthophtalic polyesters), reinforcing materials and fillers (glass beads, alumina) are used. . Initially, the samples were subjected to adhesive wear tests on two different loads (F=10N, F=20N) and two different speeds (n=100rpm, n=200rpm) at 150m sliding distance. The friction force and friction coefficient were measured during the test on tribometer. The densities of samples were measured. In the next step, the wear trace thicknesses were measured and the wear rates were calculated. In results, the addition of glass beads to plain orthophtalic polyester resin reduced wear rate. The influence of load effect on wear behavior of samples is more the influence of speed.