Comparison of friction and wear for an epoxy resin reinforced by a glass or a carbon/aramid hybrid weave

Friction and wear properties of an epoxy resin (EP) reinforced by either a glass fiber weave (G/EP) or a carbon/aramid hybrid weave (CA/EP) are reported. The tribological data is collected using a custom-made Pin-On-Disk apparatus which measures wear rates ( w ˙ ), coefficients of friction ( μ ) and disk temperatures. The composites are worn by dry-sliding against smooth steel counterfaces under ambient conditions. Tests are performed at nine different combinations of contact pressure ( p) and sliding velocity ( v ) also referred to as p v conditions. The purpose is to systematically compare the performance of the differently reinforced materials while going from mild to rougher sliding conditions. It is found that μ on average is reduced by 35% by substituting the glass fiber weave with the carbon/aramid weave. The coefficient of friction furthermore seems to be roughly independent of p and v . CA/EP shows superior wear behavior at the six mildest p v conditions with the wear rate an average factor of 22 lower than the G/EP rates. At the three roughest p v conditions CA/EP shows complete failure, while G/EP shows a relatively steady tribological behavior despite decomposition and development of larger-scale cracks.