Tribological and mechanical characteristics of glass/flax fiber-ZnO reinforced epoxy hybrid composite

This study focuses on examining how the mechanical and wear properties are affected by the layer arrangement in hybrid laminates composed of natural fibers. Flax/glass fibers incorporated with epoxy composites and ZnO nanofillers were added at different weight percentages (0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 wt%). Compared to other composites, it was found that the flax/glass fiber composite filled with 0.3 wt% ZnO exhibited better tensile and flexural performances. The tribological characteristics of epoxy composites reinforced with glass and flax fabrics, including ZnO as a filler, were analyzed using the pin-on-disc method. The addition of these fillers significantly improves the tribological performance of epoxy composites reinforced with glass and flax fabrics, leading to a significant decrease in the wear rate. The heightened aspect ratio of ZnO contributes to an increased surface area of interaction, fostering improved adhesion between the epoxy matrix and the glass and flax fabrics. Taguchi’s experimental design was used to optimize the sliding distance, sliding velocity, filler content, fiber loading, and other input elements in the abrasive wear process. In addition, conventional weight measurements and wear surface morphology analyses were performed using FESEM. FESEM was used to determine the failure process of the worn surfaces of the filled composites.