Influence of Filler Support and Applied Load on the Wear Characteristics of the Bamboo Powder Supported Polymer Composite

Bamboo has acquired the interest of scientists due to its benefits over synthetic fibres. It is completely renewable, non-abrasive, eco-friendly, low-cost, and biodegradable. The article focuses on the filler content and normal load and how they affect wear on the bamboo filler reinforced polymer composite. Bamboo powder content varied from 0 to 12.5 wt.% to prepare the composite. Alkali treatment of the powder has been done for better interfacial contact between the bamboo powder and polymer matrix. Maximum tensile and flexural strength has been achieved at 7.5 wt.% bamboo filler-reinforced epoxy composite. The operating parameters for wear tests are applied load (5, 10, 15 and 20 N), sliding speed (545 rpm), wear track diameter (35 mm), and sliding distance of 2 km. A pin-on-disk (POD) machine is used to conduct a dry sliding wear test against a flat steel surface. Incorporation of a lesser powder content and low normal load shows maximum wear resistance capacity related to the greater filler loading and normal load. Neat epoxy shows better wear under low load, but it decreases in performance as load increases. The microscopic study of the worn composite surfaces are carried out by scanning electron microscope (SEM).