Sustainable Development of Agro-Industrial Waste-Based Banana Fiber/Fly Ash Polyester Composites for Wear and Friction Study

Abstract

The present work aims to investigate the wear and friction characteristics of banana fiber (BA)/fly ash (FA) reinforced polyester composites fabricated using manual hand layup technique. Wear analysis was carried out with control parameters of filler content 1, 3, and 5 vol.%, speed 300, 500, and 700 rpm, load 20, 40, and 60 N, and time 5, 10, and 15 min to obtain minimum wear responses. Taguchi analysis shows that minimum wear rate was obtained at control parameters of 20 N load, 700 rpm speed and 15 min time on composites with 1, 3, and 5 vol.% of fly ash. ANOVA analysis depicted that the load was the most significant factor which induced a wear rate of 17.70 and coefficient of friction (COF) 22.56 on the F-value compared to other factors. The combined effect of the filler content and the sliding speed is most significant with an F value of 4.29 on the wear rate and 3.44 on the coefficient of friction when compared to other interactions. Material removal mechanisms from worn-out surfaces were identified using SEM characterization. These types of composites can be considered for low load applications such as interior parts of automobiles, interior architecture products, electronic panels, etc.

Keywords

• polymer matrix composites
• fly ash
• banana fiber
• wear properties
• surface morphology