Tribological Performances of Woven Carbon Fabric/Epoxy Composites Under Dry and Oil Lubrication Condition: An Experimental Investigation

Abstract

Tribological performance of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy polymer composites (CFRP) in dry and oil lubricating condition. The tests were conducted on a pin-on-disk machine under different applied loads and at a constant sliding velocity. CFRP composite laminates were manufactured by wet lay-up technique followed by vacuum bagging. All the samples were rubbed against a counter-surface of steel (En-31) having hardness of 60 HRC and average surface roughness (R_a) of 0.3 μm. Tribological performances in terms of wear and frictional characteristics were evaluated on the basis of total weight lost during experimentation and specific wear rate of the material and coefficient of friction, respectively. The experimental results show that maximum specific wear rate of CFRP composites with a value of 1.56 × 10⁻⁵ mm³/Nm and 2.77 × 10⁻⁵ mm³/Nm under oil lubricated and dry sliding condition, respectively. The eroded surfaces of CFRP coupons were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) to find out wear mechanism under dry and oil condition.