Influence of Counter-Face Grit Size and Lubricant on the Abrasive Wear Behaviour of Thermoplastic Polymers Reinforced with Glass Fibres

Abstract

Thermoplastic composite materials are widely used for aerospace, automobile and structural applications due to their good combination of high strength to weight ratio and specific modulus. Combined with the ease of melt processing, good resistance to corrosion, low friction, and noise damping are attributes which make them a popular choice in a wide range of emerging applications. Random, short-fibre, E-glass fibre reinforced Polyamide 6 (PA6) composites were manufactured by injection moulding in three different fibre volume fractions (25%, 33% and 50%) and the samples were scanned using micro-CT. The tribological properties of PA6 and glass fibre reinforced PA6 were investigated in the abrasive wear mode by using a pin-on-disc test setup.