Materials Research Express

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Investigation on mechanical properties and wear behaviour of chopped

carbon-basalt epoxy hybrid composite
To cite this article before publication: Akhil R Chandran et al 2019 Mater. Res. Express in press https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/ab3587

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Page 1 of 10 AUTHOR SUBMITTED MANUSCRIPT - MRX-115491.R1

IOP Publishing Journal Title

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Journal XX (XXXX) XXXXXX https://doi.org/XXXX/XXXX
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Investigation on Mechanical properties and Wear

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behaviour of chopped Carbon-Basalt Epoxy Hybrid
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12 Composite
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14 Akhil R Chandran1, N Radhika2
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16 1,2 Department
of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore, Amrita Vishwa
17 Vidyapeetham, India
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19 E-mail: [email protected]
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Received xxxxxx
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Accepted for publication xxxxxx
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Published xxxxxx
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24 Abstract
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26 Chopped carbon and basalt fibers were incorporated in an epoxy resin matrix by hand layup method. Three composites were
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fabricated with a fixed carbon fiber (CF) content (20%) and varying basalt fiber (BF) content (10%,15%,20%) along with a
pure epoxy composite. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images ensured uniform distribution of fibers
in the matrix. The mechanical properties of the composites were studied and it was seen that the properties increases with
30 increase in fiber content. Composite with 40% fiber content exhibited better hardness, tensile strength and impact strength
31 among other composites. The dry sliding wear behaviour of the composite with better mechanical properties was chosen and
32 wear behaviour was analysed using pin on disc wear tester varying process parameters such as load (15N,20N,25N), velocity
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33 (0.75m/s,1m/s,1.25m/s) and distance (500m,1000m,1500m). Taguchi’s technique was used for performing wear analysis and
34 the optimum parameters for achieving maximum wear resistance was found to be at 15N, 500m and 1m/s. Analysis of Variance
35 was used to find the effect of parameters on wear rate and it was observed that distance had higher influence on wear rate
followed by load and velocity. A regression equation was also developed and confirmation test verified that error percentage
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in predicting wear rate was less than 6%. FE-SEM images of worn samples were taken and it was understood that breakage and
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displacement of fibers was the main factor causing wear. The composite exhibited good wear properties making it applicable
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for low-wear applications.
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40 Keywords: Epoxy resin, Carbon and Basalt fiber, Sliding wear.
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43
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45 reason behind the increased applications of PMC’s in
1. Introduction automotive industries. Day by day, composite material field is
46
getting stronger and stronger. Increase in E-glass fiber content
47 In this 21st century, we are in need of materials that are in the composites resulted in the increase in flexural strength
48 stronger and weightless. Composite materials are having of the laminates[4]. In composites enhanced with glass fibers,
49 widespread applications in most of the industries including stiffness degradation increased when glass fiber volume was
50 automobiles, space engineering, military and naval due to 57.01% compared to other composites having lesser fiber
51
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better mechanical properties and good specific strength[1,2]. volume[5].

52 Composites provide better design flexibility at the expense of
53 relatively low cost and has better durability as they are Carbon fiber due to its excellent properties is finding
54 resistant to severe chemical environments[3]. Polymer matrix increased application in most of the fields and the demand is
55 composites(PMC) are materials with polymer forming a increasing day by day. Poly acrilonitrile-based carbon fibers
56 continuous matrix and reinforcements will be chopped or are most versatile and widely used. Carbon fiber is strong as
continuous fibers. PMC’s are used in aerospace applications
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57 well as lightweight at the same time. It is five times stronger

58 over metals as they have superior specific strength and than steel and also twice stiffer. It is the weightlessness of
59 stiffness resulting in weight savings to a greater extent carbon fiber that makes it favourable for designers in
60 compared to metal designs. Weight reduction is the main manufacturing industries. Carbon is used for making

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3 photosensitizers[6] and supercapacitors[7]. Carbon based energy absorption in hybrid basalt/carbon/epoxy composites.
4 composites are also used as electrode materials for Li-ion Nisini[32] et al reported that inclusion of basalt layers limited
5 batteries[8] and as electromagnetic interference shielding the bending of flax fibers and enhanced the rigidity.
6 materials[9]. Hosur et al[10] studied the strain rate compression Dorigato[33] et al reported that inclusion of basalt fibers in
7 response of carbon/epoxy laminate composites. Investigation carbon fiber laminates promoted an increase in impact energy
8 was carried out on unidirectional and cross-ply laminates. It absorption. Subagia[34] et al reported that flexural properties

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9 was concluded that the dynamic strength and stiffness depended on the stacking sequence of basalt and carbon fabric.
10 depended on the volume of fracture surfaces as well as the Zhang[35] et al reported that durability of carbon fiber
11 strain rate. Composites with activated carbon fiber at the composites are enhanced by hybridizing with basalt fibers.
12 surface absorbs high sounds irrelevant of the fiber used for the Subagia[36] et al reported that the tensile strain of carbon basalt
13 base layers[11]. Properties of composites prepared with 10% hybrid composites increased by increasing the basalt fiber

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14 short carbon fiber and polypropylene is comparable with the layers placed in between carbon fiber layers.
15 properties of steel[12]. The dynamic mechanical properties of
carbon fiber epoxy composites depended on the mode of Carbon fiber is finding increased application in automotive
16 industry because of its weightlessness and mechanical
deformation undergone[13]. At ambient states, carbon fiber
17 properties. Carbon fiber is made from Polyacrilonitrile(PAN)
composites were creep resistant[14]. The main factor leading to
18 which is a non-renewable source which makes it very costly.
wear in carbon fiber epoxy composites were the slow wear rate
19 In order to implement carbon fiber in commercial vehicles, it
of the matrix surface and crack formation on the fiber matrix
20 interface[15]. Carbon fiber epoxy composites have better is imperative to find an alternate material or its volume needs

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21 abrasion wear resistance than glass fiber epoxy composites to be reduced. It is comprehended from the literature survey
22 and also carbon fiber and epoxy had better interfacial that basalt fiber is an inexpensive alternative to carbon fiber
23 adhesion[16]. Wear resistance increased when length of short and has good impact resistance and ductility. So adding basalt
24 carbon fibers increased from 90 to 400µm[17]. fiber along with carbon fiber is a better way for cost reduction
25 and thereby making it possible to implement these composites
26 Basalt fiber is used in Fiber-Reinforced Polymers(FRPs) for the production of automotive parts. From the literature
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and structural composites. Basalt fibers have a wider
application temperature range, better radiation resistance,
sound insulation and compression strength with respect to
an survey, it is observed that research on chopped carbon and
basalt fiber in epoxy resin matrix is not explored deeply.
Hence, this paper deals with the research on chopped basalt
30 aramid and carbon fibers[18]. Basalt fiber is considered an and carbon fiber in an epoxy resin matrix. Three composites
31 alternative to carbon fibers as they are cheaper [19]. Basalt are fabricated with fixed carbon fiber amount of 20% and
fibers have better tensile strength than E-Glass fibers and varying basalt fiber amount of 10,15 and 20% along with pure
32
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greater failure strain than carbon fibers [20]. It was observed epoxy composite for scrutinizing the results. Maximum fiber
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that wear properties of aluminium Al7075 increased when content in the matrix was restricted to 40% as it is difficult to
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reinforced with basalt content upto 10wt%[21]. Basalt fiber incorporate more fibers by hand lay-up. The wear behaviour
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reinforced composites had better wear resistance than glass of the composite with better mechanical properties among the
36 fiber reinforced composites[22]. Basalt reinforced epoxy four composites are analysed using Design of Experiments
37 composites showed better mechanical properties than (DOE).
38 vinylester in both tensile and compressive tests and the failure
39 mode in basalt epoxy composites were more compact as the 2. Experimental
40 fibers didn’t tend to explode[23]. Basalt fiber within metallic,
41 polymer and concrete matrices exhibited good mechanical 2.1 Fabrication of Composites
42 properties[24]. Basalt fibers were most sensitive to lack of
43 A mold of dimension 150*150*3mm was made using mild
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treatment with additives[25]. Basalt fibers were more heat

steel. Chopped basalt fiber of length 0.6mm and diameter 5µm
44 resistant and have better sound saturation behaviour than E-
and carbon fiber of length(0.5-1mm) and diameter 8µm were
45 glass fiber and therefore can be used for sound insulation in
mixed inside a beaker and epoxy resin mixed with hardener in
46 automobiles[26]. Basalt fiber and epoxy resin has better
a ratio of 100:15 was poured into it at room temperature. The
47 interaction than glass fiber and epoxy resin[27]. A greater
contents on the beaker was stirred for nearly 5 minutes for
48 economic interest can be given to basalt fiber due to its cost
proper mixing of the fibers and epoxy. Silica gel coating is
49 effectiveness compared to carbon fiber[28].
done on the mold surface to prevent adhesion between the
50 mold and the composite. The contents on the beaker were then
Lim[29] et al reported that sandwich composites with basalt
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at center and carbon at sides exhibited better flexural strength poured into the mold and pressed in a hydraulic compression
52 and modulus compared to composite with carbon at center and press. Curing process was done by keeping the mold in the
53 basalt at sides. Subagia[30] et al reported that sandwich panel hydraulic press at a temperature of 70°C for four hours. The
54 with basalt fibers at tensile and compressive sides exhibited fiber and epoxy content were taken in volume fraction. Three
55 better ductile nature. Sarasini[31] et al reported that the ductile composites were fabricated with a fixed carbon volume
56 nature of basalt fiber allowed global deformation of the fraction of 20% and varying basalt fiber volume fraction of 10,
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57 composites and thereby widening the damaged area and 15 and 20%. A pure epoxy composite was also fabricated. FE-
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3 SEM images of the composites were taken at different Where W is the wear rate in mm3/m, M is the mass loss in
4 magnifications in order to clearly visualize the carbon and grams, ρ is the density in g/mm3 and D is the sliding distance
5 basalt fibers and the epoxy matrix. in ‘m’. Density of carbon fibers are 1.38g/cm3 and that of
6 basalt fiber is 2g/cm3. Epoxy resin had a density of 1.2g/cm3.
7 2.2 Hardness testing Density of the sample was found using specific gravity
8 method. Composite with 20% carbon and 20% basalt was
Hardness testing was conducted according to ASTM

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9 D2240 standard. Shore-D hardness tester was used for testing
found to have a density of 1.27475*10-3g/ cm3.
10 the hardness of the composites which is mainly used for
11 2.6 DOE
polymers, elastomers and rubber. Shore-D hardness testing is
12 done by pressing the indenter of the equipment on the surface DOE is used for analysing the influence of parameters in
13 of the composites. Load is given by hand till the flat area the wear behaviour of the composites. It helps in ranking

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14 trailing the pointed edge fully rests on the surface of the parameters depending on their influence in wear behaviour.
15 composite. Hardness readings were taken from different The wear experiments were conducted according to Taguchi
16 points on the surface of the each of the composites and the L27 orthogonal array. Weight loss in each of the experiments
17 average was taken. were tabulated and wear rate was calculated. The wear rate
18 was optimized and analysed in Minitab18 software. S/N ratio
19 2.3 Tensile testing and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed to study
20 the ranking and influence of each parameter on wear rate

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Universal testing machine(UTM) was used for finding the
21 respectively. Regression equation was modelled and validated
tensile strength of the composite. Composites were cut as per
22 ASTM D638 standards using water jet cutting. The ends of the
with confirmation experiments. Main effect plot in the DOE
23 specimen were tightened to the jaws of UTM. The feed rate
analysis indicate the trend of each parameter over response
24 was given as 1mm/min. Three samples were considered from
and S/N plot denote the optimum wear process parameters.
25 each of the composite and the average of the three was
26 3. Results and Discussions
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calculated to get the ultimate tensile strength.

2.4 Impact testing

an 3.1 Micro-structure analysis
The microstructure of the composites with fiber content were
Impact energy of the composites were found using Izod observed using FE-SEM to check the wettability of the fibers
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impact test. The samples were cut in ASTM D256 standard and the matrix. Figure 1 shows the microstructure of the
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using water jet cutting. The notched sample is fixed between composites at 10µm. In the figures, the fibers with smaller
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the jaws of the equipment. The pivoting arm swings down diameter(5µm) are basalt fibers and the fibers having larger
33 diameter(8µm) are carbon fibers. The epoxy matrix is seen
hitting the sample and breaking it. The height to which arm of
34 between the fibers. Figure 1(a,b,c) indicates the distribution of
the tester rises after hitting and breaking the sample gives the
35 energy absorbed. Three samples were considered from each of fibers in composites with fixed carbon fiber content(20%) and
36 the composites and impact energy of each of them were found. varying basalt fiber content(10,15,20%) respectively. It was
37 The average value of the impact energy of the three samples comprehended from the FE-SEM images that fibers and the
38 gave the impact energy of the composite. matrix have good wettability.
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40 2.5 Adhesive wear test
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42 A pin-on-disc wear tester was used for studying the wear
43 behaviour of the composites. Experiments were conducted
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44 based on ASTM G99 standards. The samples were cut in

12*12mm dimension and were attached to the end of a hollow
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stainless steel rod of outer diameter 11mm using cold setting
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in such a way that the flat surface of the sample is fully in
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contact with the disc. The samples were subjected to varying
48 loads of 15, 20 and 25N, varying sliding velocity of 0.75, 1.25
49 and 2m/s, and varying distance of 500, 1000 and 1500m.
50 Track diameter considered for performing the test was 80mm.
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The samples were weighted before and after taking the sliding
52 wear test using weighting balance having a least count of
53 0.0001g. The wear rate was calculated using the following
54 equation:
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56 W = M/(ρD)
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Shore-D Hardness
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96.6
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10 85
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12 80 81.2
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15 Fiber content (%)
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18 Figure 2: Hardness results
19 3.3 Tensile strength evaluation
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21 The tensile strength results are shown in figure 3(a). The
22 pure epoxy composite had a tensile strength of 30MPa while
23 the composite with 40%(20CF+20BF) fiber content had a
24 tensile strength of 89.5MPa. Addition of 40% of fibers
25 increased the tensile strength by 198.3% compared to that of
26 pure epoxy tensile strength. Young’s modulus values of the
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an composites are shown in figure3(b). The addition of 30%
fibers increased young’s modulus by 38% and further increase
in basalt fiber content by 5% increased modulus by 16% and
30 3% respectively. It is understood that there is high increase in
31 Figure 1: (a) 20%CF and 10% BF (b) 20%CF and 15%BF tensile strength due to the addition of fibers. Fibers improved
32 the ductility of the composites which enhanced the tensile
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(c) 20%CF and 20%BF properties. At low fiber content, effect of crack initiation is
33
more dominant compared to crack inhibition leading to lesser
34 3.2 Hardness results tensile strength. Tensile strength of composites depends on
35
bonding between the matrix and fibers. When fiber content
36 The measured hardness values are shown in figure 2. It is
exceeds above a certain limit, fibers are not sufficiently wetted
37 observed that as fiber content increases the hardness values
by the matrix causing fiber agglomeration and blockage of
38 also increases. This also ensured better bonding of
stress transfer leading to degredation in tensile strength[38].
39 reinforcements with the matrix. Epoxy with 40% fiber content
40 showed maximum hardness of 18.96% compared to pure The stress-strain curves of the composites are shown in
41 epoxy followed by 35% and 30% with percentage increase of figure 3(c). From the stress-strain curves of the composites, it
42 16.99% and 13.79% respectively. This is due to ductile nature is evident that there is an increase elongation with increase in
43 of basalt fibers. The fiber matrix interface formed on the fiber content. The increase in elongation of the composites is
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44 composite surface improved resistance to deformation upon due to the improved ductile nature. Basalt fibers have good
the load applied by the pointer of Shore-D hardness tester. As ductility which enhanced the properties of the composites[30].
45
the fiber content increased, the resistance to deformation also So as basalt fiber content increased, load carrying capacity of
46
increased enhancing improvement in hardness of the the composites also increased thereby increasing the tensile
47
composites with 40% fiber content. It is observed that there is strength. From the plotted stress-strain curve shown in figure,
48 degradation in hardness when fiber content increases above a it can be seen that the stress-strain curve of epoxy is linear
49 particular level[37]. In this case, the maximum amount of fibers while that of composite with fiber content is not. It is because
50 incorporated in matrix is 40% due to the limitations in the load distribution in the fibers is not homogenous as not all
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performing hand layup. the individual fibers are loaded at the same time[39].
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3 fibers are forced to pull out of the fiber-matrix interface
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Tensile Strength (Mpa)

89.5 leading to tensile failure. As load increases, crack formation

5 100 79.63 occurs inside the matrix weakening the bonding between
6 fibers and matrix. This leads to the pull-out of fibers. It is
80
7 89.13
reported that on a study conducted on carbon-basalt reinforced
8 60 polypropylene hybrid composites, the main factor leading to

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9 failure is fiber pull-out which is result of weak interfacial
40 30 adhesion[25].
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11 20
12
0
13
0 20 40 60

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15 Fiber content (%)
16
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18 Figure 3(a): Tensile strength results
19
20 4.5
Youngs modulus (GPa)

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23 3.5
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25 3
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2.5

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0 10 20 30 40 50
30
31 Fiber content (%)
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34 Figure 3(b): Young’s modulus results
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39 Figure 4: FE-SEM result of tensile sample at (a) 800X
40 (b) 3.00KX
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3.5 Impact strength evaluation
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44 The impact strength results are shown in figure 5. The

45 basalt and carbon fibers enhanced the impact strength of the
46 composites. The impact strength of composite with 30% fiber
47 is 269% more than that of the pure epoxy composite.
48 Increasing the basalt fiber content by 5% increased the impact
49 Figure 3(c): Stress-strain curve
strength by 19.23% and further addition of 5% fiber led to an
50 increase in impact strength by 8.8%. Carbon and basalt fibers
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3.4 Tensile sample FE-SEM results have good ductile properties which enhanced the ductility of
52 the composites[30]. The improved ductile nature of the
53 composites helped in absorbing more impact energy compared
The FE-SEM images of the sample with 40% fiber to pure epoxy composites. The increase in impact strength
54 content(figure 4) having tensile strength of 89.5MPa after
55 proves that the adhesion between matrix and the fibers is
tensile testing was taken and analysed. From figure 4, it is significant. Impact strength increases with the increase in
56 observed that some fibers are projected outwards of the energy dissipation ability of fibers[40].
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57 matrix. Due to the tensile load acting on the composite, the

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3 8 15 1500 1.25 0.6857
40 33.53
4
Impact strength (KJ/m2)

9 15 1500 2 0.6976
5 25.84 10 20 500 0.75 0.1046
6 30
11 20 500 1.25 0.2138
7 30.81
8 20 12 20 500 2 0.2692

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9 13 20 1000 0.75 0.2953
10 10 7 14 20 1000 1.25 0.5491
11 15 20 1000 2 0.4771
12
0 16 20 1500 0.75 0.8845
13
0 10 20 30 40 50

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14 17 20 1500 1.25 1.1937
15 Fiber Content (%) 18 20 1500 2 1.0019
16 19 25 500 0.75 0.5138
17 20 25 500 1.25 0.6891
18 Figure 5: Impact strength results
21 25 500 2 0.5976
19 3.6 Wear behaviour analysis
20 22 25 1000 0.75 0.6507

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21 The wear behaviour of the composite with 20% basalt fiber 23 25 1000 1.25 1.0134
22 and 20% carbon fiber which had better mechanical properties 24 25 1000 2 0.8975
23 among the four composites was analysed. Experiments were 25 25 1500 0.75 0.8438
24 performed in a pin on disc tribometer according to Taguchi’s
26 25 1500 1.25 1.4165
25 L27 orthogonal array. Tests were performed at three different
27 25 1500 2 1.2714
26 loads (15,20,25N), velocities (0.75,1.25,2m/s) and distances
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(500,1000,1500m). The wear results are shown in table 1.

3.6.1 Signal to noise ratio analysis

an Table 2: Signal-to-noise response table
30 Signal to Noise ratio(S/N) is the ratio between mean and Level Load(N) Distance(m) Velocity(m/s)
31 standard deviation. S/N is used for analysing the wear 1 68.85 70.31 68.57
32 parameters with least variation in results. Table 2 shows the
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33 S/N ratio analysis which was performed by considering 2 67.35 66.73 64.57
34 “smaller the better” characteristic. Parameters are ranked 3 61.60 60.76 64.66
35 based on delta values which is found by taking difference of
36 lower and higher S/N values. This helps to identify the Delta 7.25 9.55 4.00
37 parameter having the biggest influence. The parameter having Rank 2 1 3
38 highest delta value is ranked 1 and second highest delta value
39 is ranked 2 and correspondingly. From table 2, it can be seen
40 that distance is found to have more influence in wear rate
41 followed by load and velocity. The optimum parameters for
42 maximum wear resistance is found to be 15N, 500m and
43 0.75m/s (figure 6).
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44 Table 1: Parametric level and its responses

45
46 Sl.No Load(N) Distance(m) Velocity(m/s) Wear
47 rate(mm3/m)
48 *10-3
49 1 15 500 0.75 0.1569
50
2 15 500 1.25 0.3661
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52 3 15 500 2 0.3138
53 4 15 1000 0.75 0.1938
54 5 15 1000 1.25 0.2522
Figure 6: Main effects plot for signal/noise ratio
55 6 15 1000 2 0.4182
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7 15 1500 0.75 0.5907

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3 in wear rate[42]. This is the reason behind increased wear rates
4 as velocity increased from 0.5 to 1.25m/s. The decrease in
5 wear from 1.25m/s to 2m/s is because the pulled out fibers
6 sticks to the matrix surface and forms a thin protective layer
7 which reduces further wear.
8

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9 3.6.5 Analysis of Variance(ANOVA)
10 ANOVA was performed to analyse the influence of each of
11 the parameters and to find which parameter had highest
12 influence among all. A Taguchi L27 model was created in
13 Minitab software and analysis was performed. Confidence

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14 interval was given as 95% with a significance level of 5%. It
15 is understood from ANOVA results (table 3) that distance has
16 highest influence(48.04%) on wear rate followed by
17 Figure 7: Main effects plot for means load(29.72%) and velocity(3.9%).
18
19 Table 3: Analysis of variance on wear rate
20 3.6.2 Effect of load Source DF Adj SS Adj MS F- P- P(%)

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21 value value
22 From figure 7a, it is seen that there is an increase in wear
rate as load increases. There is a steady increase in wear rate Load 1 0.00000099 0.00000099 37.11 0.000 29.72
23
from loads 15 and 20N and a sudden increase happens at the
24 Distance 1 0.00000160 0.00000160 59.93 0.000 48.04
highest load 25N. As load increases, pressure between the
25 Velocity 1 0.00000013 0.00000013 4.87 0.038 3.90
composite and the disc also increases. The pressure raise
26
27
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results in increment in frictional force compared to that of
an
lower loads. Due to this increased frictional force, wear rate
also increases. During the initial period when epoxy comes in
Error

Total
23

26
0.00000061

0.00000333
0.00000003

contact with the disc, adhesive wear occurs severely and wear
30 rate increases[41]. The area of contact between the disc and the
31 sample depends on the load being applied. So at higher loads,
32 the adhesion between disc and sample results in increased 3.6.6 Regression analysis
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33 wear rates.
34 Regression analysis was conducted on the wear results. The
35 3.6.3 Effect of distance equation obtained after creating the model is:
36
From figure 7b, it is understood that there is an increase in Wear rate = -0.001100 + (0.000047*Load) +
37 wear rate with an increase in sliding distance. Initially wear
38 (0.000001*Distance) + (0.000135*Velocity)
starts due to localized plastic deformations resulting in
39 formation of scratches and leads to breakage of fibers. This This equation gives a relation between load, distance and
40 breakage of fibers contributed to the increase in wear rate velocity. The positive sign indicates that as the parameters
41 when distance increased from 500m to 1000m. As distance varied within the range, the wear rate also increased.
42 increased from 1000m to 1500m, wear rates increased further.
43 3.6.7 Confirmation test
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As sliding distance increases, time also increases leading to

44 continuous exposure of fibers. This continuous exposure leads
45 Confirmation tests are done to validate the developed
to temperature rise and weakening of fiber-matrix bond
regression equation. Combination of parameters within the
46 resulting in pull out of fibers from the matrix.
parameter limits are chosen which are not used in the
47
3.6.4 Effect of velocity experimental table as shown in table 4. It is observed that the
48
error percentage between experimental and regression wear
49 rates are less than 6%. So, the developed regression equation
Figure 7c revealed that, wear rate increased with velocity
50 from 0.75 to 1.25m/s. But there is a decrease in wear rate as had high efficiency in predicting wear rate results.
51
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velocity rises from 1.25 to 2m/s. For epoxy composites, the

52 surface gets rapidly softened. Increase in sliding velocity
53 increases the frictional heat, which leads to the rise in
54 temperature between the contact surfaces. Due to this increase
55 in temperature thermal penetration occurs leading to matrix
56 softening. This results in the weakening of the bond between
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57 matrix and fibers. So the fibers are pulled out causing increase
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3 Table 4: Confirmation experiment results
4
Sl Load Distanc Velocity( Exp. Reg. Error(
5 . (N) e(m) m/s) wear wear %)
6 N rate(mm rate(mm
7 o. 3
/m) 3
/m)
8 1 18 750 0.9 0.000597 0.000617 3.29

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8 5
9
2 28 1250 1.5 0.001582 0.001668 5.42
10 7 5
11 3 22 900 1.2 0.000947 0.000996 5.16
12 1 0
13

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14
15 3.7 Wear sample FE-SEM results
16
17 As distance and load had higher influence on the wear rate,
18 worn surfaces were analysed at varied parametric combination
19 of load and distance. Figure 8 (a,b,c,d and e) shows the worn
20 surfaces at different parametric conditions. At higher distance

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21 of 1500m (figure 8a) keeping load and velocity constant (15N
22 and 2m/s), the main mechanism leading to increased wear
23 rates was observed as breakage and displacement of fibers.
24 The temperature increase resulted in matrix softening which
25 led to the weakening of matrix-fiber bonding and pull-out of
26 fibers from the matrix was observed. At lower distance of
27
28
29
500m (figure 8b), keeping same constant parameters of load
and velocity, wear rate observed was less as there was no
considerable temperature rise and therefore matrix softening
an
30 didn’t occur. Wear happened due to the matrix deterioration
31 and fibers weren’t exposed.
32
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At higher load of 25N (figure 8c), keeping constant
33 distance and velocity (1000m and 0.75m/s), the area of contact
34 between the sample and the disc increased and matrix got
35 worn-out which led to exposure of fibers. At lower loads of
36 15N (figure 8d), with same constant parameters, the area of
37 contact between sample and disc was less and there was no
38 considerable temperature rise for matrix softening to happen.
39 So, only wear tracks were formed on the surface of the sample
40 and fibers were not exposed. Figure 8e shows the FE-SEM
41 image of the composite at optimum conditions (15N load,
42 500m distance and 0.75m/s velocity) in which wear tracks on
43 the surface of the fibers were observed. Matrix at the
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44 composite surface was worn out and led to the exposure of

45 fibers which further increased wear resistance of the
46 composite. The main mechanism causing wear on fibers were
47 crack formation and fiber breakage.
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2
3 Acknowledgements
4
5 We would like to ackowledge the support of Amrita
6 University, CBPST (Kochi, India) and PSG Institute of
7 Technology (Coimbatore, India) for the conduct of this
8 research.

pt
9
10 References
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