%0 Journal Article
%T Effect of Fiber Content on Abrasive Wear Behavior of Date Palm Leaf Reinforced Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone Composite
%A Jyoti R. Mohanty
%A Sankar N. Das
%A Harish C. Das
%J ISRN Tribology
%D 2014
%R 10.1155/2014/453924
%X The effect of fiber contents on wear behavior of date palm leaf reinforced polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP/DPL) composites has been experimentally investigated. The test samples with fillers in 10, 20, 30, and 40% based on weight of fibers were prepared using injection molding. The optimum fiber content (i.e., 26£¿wt%) for maximum mechanical strength of the composites was determined by regression analysis. The dry sliding wear tests were conducted for each composition at different sliding velocities (0.392, 0.471, and 0.549£¿m/s) and sliding distances (188, 254, and 376£¿m) by applying normal loads of 5, 10, 15, and 20£¿N using pin-on-disc wear testing machine. The specific wear rate, wear loss, and coefficient of friction were plotted against the normal load and sliding distance at all sliding velocities. The results reveal that incorporation of date palm leaf fibers leads to significant improvement in the wear resistance of composites up to optimum fiber content and then decreases as fiber content increases. Further, it is found that surface modification has significant effect on wear performance. Worn surfaces of some selected samples were studied by scanning electron microscopy to analyze the wear mechanism. 1. Introduction Growing environmental awareness has focused considerable interest in the development of nonconventional materials which are renewable, recyclable, biodegradable, sustainable, and ecofriendly. Recently, organic lingocellulosic fibers reinforced in either thermoplastic or thermosetting polymers have attracted wide attention of many researchers and scientists around the world due to their advantages over conventional synthetic fibers such as glass fibers and carbon fibers. The thermoplastic polymers, in particular, have been proved as good matrix materials for production of natural fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites due to their excellent chemical resistance, high damping properties, low noise emission, good processability, high impact resistance, damage tolerance, and above all high cost-performance ratio [1¨C3]. But, high level of moisture absorption, poor wettability, and insufficient adhesion between untreated natural fibers and the polymer matrix lead to debonding. However, proper surface modifications of natural fibers with suitable chemicals can overcome these problems to a certain extent. Recently, characterization and properties of several natural fibers such as hemp, flax, jute, linen, kenaf, oil palm, and bamboo [4¨C12] have been explored in order to find their potential in numerous applications, for example, automobiles,
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.tribology/2014/453924/