Wear and thermal resistance properties of aluminium particulate microcomposites

Wear resistance and thermal stability are not fundamental properties of materials, but their effects are inevitable in applications involving two-body contact because of friction-induced wear and heat. Wear resistance and thermal stability of epoxy containing 10% by weight of 66.34 μm aluminium particles were examined using mass loss per sliding distance approach and glass transition temperature (Tg) was used as a parameter for thermal stability. The results obtained revealed a reduction in the wear rate due to addition of aluminium particles. About 62, 58 and 39% reductions at 9 N/0.65 m s−1; 9 N/1.3 m s−1 and 25 N/1.3 m s−1, respectively imply that both sliding speed (v) and the applied load (F) contribute to an increase in the wear rate. A lower coefficient of friction of epoxy aluminium composites signifies lower surface wear rate in comparison with that of the epoxy polymer upon contact with another body in applications. The linear model establishes that v with a P value of 0.0046 has a greater significant influence on the wear resistance of the composite than F with a higher P value (0.0103). By the model, the epoxy aluminium composite under 24.63 N is expected to experience a wear rate of 0.000537 g m−1 which is 1380% lower than that established by the results of the experiment. About 36% increase in Tg is observed and 2FI model affirms that there is a gradual increase in Tg with heat flow through the sample during the glass transition period. Hence, the 2FI model having adequate precision of 164 > 4 is appropriate to be used for navigating a design phase for thermal stability properties.