Study on Friction and Wear Behavior of Glass Fiber and Fly Ash Reinforced MC Nylon Composites

The glass fiber and fly ash reinforced monomer casting nylon composites (coded as GFFAPA) have been prepared by anionic polymerization of caprolactam. The friction and wear behaviors of composites with different proportion of glass fiber and fly ash under dry condition and water lubrication were investigated through a ring-black wear tester. The worn surfaces were observed and analyzed using a scanning electron microscope and a surface profilometer. The results show that the tribological properties of composites were significantly affected by the proportion of glass fiber and fly ash. GFFAPA composites had lower friction coefficients and better wear resistance than MC nylon. The higher wear resistance of the composite could be attained with the proportion of glass fiber 30% and fly ash 10%, which respectively decreased 57.8% and 89.9%. The main wear mechanism of composites with low proportion of glass fiber and fly ash were adhesive and abrasive wear while that of composites with high proportion of glass fiber and fly ash were abrasive and fatigue wear. Compared with dry friction, the friction coefficient and wear rate of composites Sg3+f1 respectively decreased 42.5% and 77.8% under oil lubricant, while the wear rate was bigger under water lubrication than that with no lubricant. The wear mechanism under water or oil lubricated condition was principally abrasive wear.