The Effect of Graphite Addition on the Friction Coefficient and Wear Behavior of Glass Fiber Reinforced Composites

The use of fillers in fiber-reinforced epoxy matrix composites to enhance the wear performance of the composite is a widely employed method nowadays. In this study, the effect of incorporating graphite filler into a glass fiber-reinforced composite structure on the tribological properties of the composite was investigated. Composite materials produced using the hand lay-up method with three different levels of graphite filler were compared to unfilled composites in terms of wear behavior under different loads (7 N, 10 N, 15 N) and sliding distances (200 m, 400 m). The influence of load, filler content, and sliding distance on the friction coefficient and wear rate was discussed. When the results are examined, the significant effects of graphite filler on wear volume and friction coefficient are clearly observed. In the composite containing 12% graphite, the wear volume has decreased by almost 96%; this ratio has been around 93% for the composite with 4% graphite filler. As the reinforcement of graphite and force increase, the friction coefficient decreases, whereas with the increase in sliding distance, the friction coefficient declines. Microstructural analysis revealed that the filled composites exhibited less abrasion compared to the unfilled composites, and the surface porosity and craters were shallower.