Mechanical and Tribological Behavior of Eulaliopsis Binate (Short Fiber) Reinforced Epoxy Polymer Composite

Abstract

Over the last century, polymers have emerged as one of the most important components used in everyday life, epoxy or poly-epoxide being one of the examples of it. Until recently, synthetic filler materials have been the preferred choice for reinforcement of epoxy to improve its mechanical and tribological properties. However, natural fibers are emerging as suitable alternatives to synthetic materials for obvious reasons. Several research efforts have been put to study the effectiveness of natural fiber-based materials on the mechanical behavior of epoxy composites, focusing mainly on fibers and their weight percent within the composites. In the present work, an attempt has been made to prepare and characterize Eulaliopsis binate (short fiber) reinforced epoxy composite for the tribological application. Composites are having 5,10, 20 30 and 40% volume fraction of Eulaliopsis binate were made using hand layup method and were tested on a standard pin on disc wear testing machine and other different mechanical property. The worn surface morphology of the eroded surfaces wear examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).