A study on mechanical and wear behaviour of graphite filled sisal-glass-epoxy hybrid composites

In recent years, advancements in development of composite materials can be distinctively observed and taking ecological factors into account, researchers are currently working on the development of natural fibre composites for various applications. The current work concentrates on assessment of the mechanical and wear characteristics of sisal-glass (natural and synthetic) epoxy hybrid graphite filled composites. A comparative characteristic study was performed in the study between synthetic (glass) and natural (sisal) FRP composites and it was found that graphite filled FRP composites exhibit excellent tensile properties, flexural modulus enhanced by 35.2%, the hardness and impact strength were improved with the addition of graphite filler. Statistical analysis was conducted using the design of experiments with the help of ANOVA software. From the tribology tests, it was noticed that the COF and wear loss of the composites with the natural reinforcement are comparatively higher than that of the synthetic fibre. It is evident from ANOVA and regression analysis that the reinforcement has 57.99% influence on the wear rate. Due to increased environmental consequences, natural FRP composites are recommended to be used in as automotive brake friction material and aerospace body parts.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MEiN, umowa nr SONP/SP/546092/2022 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2022-2023).