Mechanical and tribological performance of chopped basalt fiber/acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber composites

In this study, a series of basalt fiber (BF)/acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber (NBR) composites with various BF contents were prepared and evaluated. The effects of the BF content, thermal aging, and friction condition on tribological properties of the composites were the primary focus. The tribological performances of the composites were evaluated by DIN abrasion, Akron abrasion, and high‐speed block‐on‐ring tests, respectively. The results showed that with an increase in the BF content, for the DIN and Akron abrasion tests, the wear loss increased due to insufficient interactions between the BFs and the NBR matrix, whereas for the block‐on‐ring friction, both the friction coefficient and the wear loss of the composites decreased attributed to the effect of BF on transfer film formation on the polished counterpart surface. The thermal aging enhanced the wear resistance of the composites for all three friction conditions by improving the crosslinking density of the NBR matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:630–637, 2019. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers