Tribological and mechanical properties of polyester based composites with sic particles

Abstract

The work is aimed at manufacturing composites based on polyester resin and silicon carbide powder (50% w/w) by moulding, which could be used in construction industry, with good tribological and mechanical properties. Addition of short glass fibres (GF) was also studied. The composite characterization was performed by pin-on-disk test. Wear tests were carried out under ASTM G99 standard. The main test parameters were speed, load and sliding distance, which were set at 120 rpm, 15 N and 1000 m, respectively. As pin, an alumina ball of 6 mm diameter was used. The wear tracks were also analysed with opto-digital microscope. Mechanical properties were evaluated by flexural test according to UNE-EN ISO 14125 standard and Charpy impact test under ASTM E23 standard. The results show that polyester resin has friction coefficient value of 0.4 ± 0.1 with an upwards trend, whereas the composites with 50 wt% SiC + 3 wt% GF present a stable friction coefficient of 0.6 ± 0.1. Flexural tests show an increasing strength when SiC is added to the composite, besides there is a greater absorption of energy in the Charpy impact test when GFs were added.