Mechanical and tribological properties of silicon carbide /carbon fiber/epoxy resin based composites

In this contribution, an epoxy resin based composites which synergistically modified by carbon fiber (MCF) and silicon carbide (SiC) particles were prepared. The chemical structure of MCF and SiC before and after surface treated using silane coupling agent were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The mechanical properties including tensile, flexural, and compression of the composites were investigated. Moreover, the friction and wear performances were studied on a ball-on-ring wear tester. The results indicated that the best tensile, compressive, and friction and wear properties of composites were obtained when SiC particles content is 3.0 wt.%. Compared to the pure epoxy resin, when the SiC particles content is 4.0 wt.%, the best flexural strength and modulus were obtained, which increased by 8.7% and 52.97%, respectively. Both the average coefficient of friction (COF) and the wear mass losses of the composites decreased significantly with the addition of the modified SiC particles. In addition, the main wear mechanism of pure EP is adhesive and fatigue wear, while the SiC/MCF/EP composites exhibit abrasive and fatigue wear.