Polymer matrix composites are advanced materials that
can be used in a variety of applications such as low density, high strength,
automobile, aerospace and home appliances. Common and commercially used
composites generally use polymers as matrix materials and are commonly known as
resin solutions. variety of polymer materials are available as matrix type and
the commonly used matrix materials are epoxy, urethane, polyamide, polyester,
polyether ether ketone (PEEK)… The reinforcement materials used are generally
fibers, particles and ground minerals.
Due to the increasing production of iron and steel,
high levels of slag are emerging and pose problems for both producers and the
environment. From this point of view, in this study, it has been investigated
on the wear behavior of the epoxy matrix as a reinforcement in order to
evaluate the blast furnace slag (BFS), which is known to have hard ceramic
components.
EP100 epoxy resin and EP385H hardener are commercially
available. The epoxy resin was selected as matrix and Al2O3
and blast furnace slag dusts of 61 µm, 91 µm and 125 µm were used as
reinforcement (Table 1). In the produced composites the reinforcement ratio was
kept constant at 30% and the epoxy and reinforcement powders were mixed until a
homogeneous mixture was obtained. The curing agent was added during the mixture
and at the end of the process the mixture was poured into the silicone mold.
The samples were then allowed to cure for 36 hours at room temperature. Dry
sliding wear behavior of samples tested with ball on disc wear device.
The wear resistance of the composites reinforced with
blast furnace slag at all conditions was higher than the samples reinforced
with Al2O3. However, the volume losses of composites
reinforced with blast furnace slag especially at low loads are much lower than
the samples reinforced with Al2O3. The reason for this;
It can be shown that the blast furnace slag having a fragile structure is
broken under high load and divided into many sharp edges and these particles
contribute to abrasion by acting as abrasive material in front of the abrasive
ball.
The volume losses of the samples increased with
increasing load. Because the two forces during wear affect the wear losses. One
of them is the force acting on the counter-surface of the ball, while the other
is the shear force. The increase of the load increased the penetration of
abrasive ball to the opposite surface. Therefore, the amount of material to be
affected during the relative movement of the abrasive ball is also increased.
As a result, if sufficient shear force occurs, it transfers more mass from the
ball to the surface. In both types of composite, increased reinforcement
particle size resulted in increased wear losses. Low size reinforcement
particles are more homogeneously distributed in the matrix at more points. In this case
abrasive ball will be more difficult to penetrate into the matrix and will
contribute more to the wear resistance of the low-dimensional particle
reinforced composite material. In addition, low-dimensional particles will have
more adhesion in the matrix. This will help reduce wear losses.
Both Al2O3 and blast furnace
slag reinforced composites showed fatigue related surface deterioration and
plastic deformation wear mechanisms. However, plastic deformation was the
predominant wear mechanism in blast furnace slag reinforced composites, while
Al2O3 reinforced composites were predominantly identified
as a fatigue-related surface damage wear mechanism.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | June 20, 2019 |
Submission Date | November 22, 2018 |
Published in Issue | Year 2019 |