Effect of Fiber Loading and Orientation on Mechanical and Erosion Wear Behaviors of Glass-Epoxy Composites

For a composite material, its mechanical behavior and surface damage by solid particle erosion depend on many factors. One of the most important factors is the fiber content. Similarly, these properties are also greatly affected by the fiber orientation. In this work, a series of experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of fiber loading and fiber orientation on mechanical and erosion behavior of glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. The composites were fabricated with three different fiber loadings (20, 30, and 40 wt%) and at four different fiber orientations (15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees, and 60 degrees). The conclusions drawn on the basis of the experimental findings are discussed, and composite with 30 degrees fiber orientation shows better microhardness compared with other fiber orientations irrespective of fiber loading. Similar observations are also noticed for other mechanical properties of the composites, such as tensile strength, flexural strength, interlaminar shear strength, impact strength, etc. Finally, the morphology of eroded surfaces is examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and possible erosion mechanisms are identified. POLYM. COMPOS., 32: 665-674, 2011. (C) 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers