Friction and wear behavior of graphite fiber‐reinforced composites

Abstract Friction and wear behavior of continuous graphite fiber composites was studied for different fiber orientations against the sliding direction. The effect of fiber orientation on friction and wear of the composite and on deformation of the counterface was investigated experimentally. A pin on disk type testing machine was built and employed to generate friction and wear data. A graphite fiber composite plate was produced by the bleeder ply molding in an autoclave and machined into rectangular pin specimens with specific fiber orientations, i.e., normal, transverse, and longitudinal directions. Three different wear conditions were employed for two different periods of time, 24 and 48 hours. The wear track of the worn specimens and the metal counterface was examined and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to observe the damaged fibers on the sliding surface of the specimen and wear film generation on the counterface. A wear mechanism of the continuous graphite fiber composite during sliding wear is proposed based on the experimental results.