On the abrasiveness and reinforcement of fillers in PTFE/epoxy composites

This article addresses the question what the influence is of size and shape of glass both particles and fibers, as well as carbon fibers on the abrasiveness of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)/epoxy composites sliding against steel balls. A size‐dependence appears, i.e. large size glass particles (∼80 µm, L) are more abrasive than medium‐size (∼50 µm, M) and small‐size (∼27 µm, S) glass particles. Longer glass fibers (submilimeter) are more abrasive. Nevertheless, longer glass fibers still enhance the intrinsic mechanical properties of the composites. Also, carbon fibers reinforced composites yield much better mechanical properties than the glass fibers reinforced composites, but much more abrasive wear on the steel ball due to less surface‐adhered polymer layers on fibers. Mechanical properties are enhanced by an increasing amount of glass fillers and by adding a small concentration of nanofillers. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:698–707, 2018. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers