Tribological characteristics comparison for oil palm fibre/epoxy and kenaf fibre/epoxy composites under dry sliding conditions

The aim of this study is to compare the tribological characteristics of OPF/E and KF/E composites in terms of fibre composition and temperature. A pin sample with a diameter of 10mm was made using the hot compaction technique. The dry sliding test was performed using a pin-on-disc tribometer. Increasing the temperature resulted in increased wear and decreased friction coefficient for both composites. The mild-severe wear transition of OPF/E accelerated with fibre composition although it produced a lower wear rate than KF/E at high-temperatures. In addition, the wear mode map for both OPF/E and KF/E composites has been proposed and addressed in this paper based on wear rate values. This mild-severe wear transition has been further confirmed by worn surface morphology. •Temperature and fibre composition affect the friction and wear of both composites.•Wear of both composites increased with temperature.•Friction coefficient of both composites decreased with temperature.•Mild-severe wear transition of OPF/E accelerated with fibre composition.•OPF/E produced a lower wear rate than KF/E at high-temperatures.