Sand Erosion Behaviour of Transparent PVC Thin Film Coatings

Sand erosion cause severe damage of headlights, paints and many surface components of the vehicles. In this study, sand erosion testing of the headlight protections was investigated. A test rig was designed and manufactured for sand erosion testing purpose. Four types of transparent polyvinyl chloride commercial coating film materials were tested with two different thicknesses namely, 0.25 and 0.5 mm were tested. Wear was determined at different attack angles by inspecting of the worn surfaces using an optical microscope and by weighting the test specimen before and after sand attack. The opacity of the sand blasted specimens was measured using a resistor photocell. Two wear mechanisms were displayed with regard to the observed results. The first was the pits, holes and scratches due to sand impingement, while the second was sand embedment in the tested surfaces causing a weight gain. The relative opacity of the headlight protections was depended on the sand embedment in the coating and the wear scars which cause the light diffraction.