Abrasive wear performance of hygrothermally aged glass/PTFE composites

In the present study, abrasive wear tests were conducted to investigate the effect of hygrothermal ageing on the friction and wear resistance of glass/Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites. Non-hybrid and hybrid composites were manufactured with PTFE coated two-dimensional plain weave (2D), three-dimensional knitted (3D), satin weave (SW) fabrics and a steel metal mesh (MM). Hybrid composites were manufactured with PTFE coated glass fabrics and MM by placing it on the top and bottom of the laminate. Specimens were aged in a distilled water at a temperature of 35 ◦C for 60 days. Abrasive wear tests were performed with 120 μm grit silicon carbide (SiC) paper using a plate on plate apparatus with loads ranging between 10 N and 50 N. Water absorption and kinetic parameters were determined and Fickian diffusion behaviour was observed. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis showed that the crystallinity was sensitive to the hygrothermal ageing and decreased with an increase in water uptake. Hygrothermal ageing reduced the abrasive wear resistance of both the non-hybrid and hybrid composites as compared to the non-aged ones. For the same ageing conditions, the inclusion of MM improved the wear resistance of non-hybrid composites.