INFLUENCE OF FIBER LENGTH IN THE WEAR BEHAVIOUR OF BORASSUS FRUIT FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES

摘要

In this paper, the wear behavior of Borassus fruit fiber reinforced epoxy composites has been explored. The composites were prepared with raw and 5% alkali treated Borassus fruit fibers of three different fiber lengths 3 mm, 5 mm and 7 mm respectively. The wear tests were made on a pin-on-disc machine when sliding against stainless steel disc by varying loads from 15N 30 N under dry conditions and the speed of the disc from 300 500 rpm. It was observed that the alkali treatment to the fibers improved the wear properties. The influence of fiber length is a key factor in the reinforcement of composites and the results revealed that the 5 mm length alkali treated fiber reinforced composites exhibited superior wear properties than that of others. The Scanning Electron Microscopy image revealed that the 5 mm length alkali treated fiber had better bonding with the epoxy matrix.