Erosion wear behavior of bamboo fiber-reinforced high-density polyethylene composites with nano silicon dioxide filler subjected to rotary water jet

The erosion wear behavior of bamboo fiber-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites with silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles filler was investigated based on the sand-carrying water (a mixture of water and garnet sand) jets (SCWJ). The composites consisted of varying weight percentage of SiO2 fillers were prepared through press molding technology. Based on the rotating water jet technique, the erosion wear performance of composites was considered with varying erosion times and shooting distances. The results showed that composites filled with SiO2 possessed better resistance to SCWJ erosion. The erosion resistance of the composites highly corresponds to their impact strength. The maximum erosion rate occurred at a shooting distance of 0.5 cm and an erosion duration of 180 s. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis further demonstrated that the erosive wear mechanisms mainly included the pulverization of bamboo fibers, brittle fracture of HDPE matrix, and increase in oxygen content.