Improving wear resistance of epoxy/SiC composite using a modified apparatus

A centrifugal mixing method was developed to disperse ceramic particles inside a thermosetting polymer. Horizontal centrifugal equipment was used to fabricate cylindrical rods from epoxy reinforced with silicon carbide particles. Silicon carbide particles (SiC) are used for the outer coating of epoxy to increase wear resistance. In the centrifugal mixing process, there are three important variables: rotational speed, ceramic percentage and, ceramic size which affect ceramic particle distribution. This paper aims to find the relationship between these variables and the distribution of ceramic particles then determine the optimum conditions to get maximum wear resistance and hardness. From the experiment and analysis, it can be concluded that when mixing speed was greater than 600 rpm, the possibility of air bubbles formation was increased especially for ultrafine particles. Otherwise, the maximum wear resistance and hardness values were found in ultrafine size SiC samples reinforced with 30 wt% which were mixed at a low speed of 300 rpm.