Tribological properties of pitch-based 2-D carbon–carbon composites

The present study reports the tribological properties of various two dimensional carbon–carbon (C–C) composites composed of pitch coke reinforced with graphitized chopped PAN fiber and 8 H/S carbon yarn fabric. An experimental investigation was made of the effects of carbon fiber type, densification process parameters, kinetic energy loading, and friction surface morphology on the tribological properties of C–C composites. Experimental results indicate that heat treatment temperature of chopped carbon fiber, applied pressure during carbonization cycle, carbon fabric exposure on the friction surface, and kinetic energy loading strongly affect both the friction coefficient and the wear rate. The exposure of fabric filler at the friction surface was found to have a dominant effect on the increase of friction coefficient and wear rate. It was also found that the friction coefficient decreases but wear rate increases with increasing kinetic energy loading. Furthermore, the wear rate and friction coefficients are strongly dependent not only on the PV (pressure×velocity) value but also on the kinetic energy loading.