Wear and friction of composites of an epoxy with boron containing wastes

Abstract

Polymer surface coatings provide superior adhesion to substrates, some flexibility and corrosion resistance. On the other hand, 400,000 ton of boron wastes are generated each year. We have developed polymer composites based on epoxy resins containing up to 50 wt. % of boron wastes and determined their pin-on-disk dynamic friction, wear, Shore D hardness and surface roughness. The hardness and wear resistance increase with increasing boron waste concentration. An equation, with parameters dependent on the load, relating wear rate to hardness is provided. Dynamic friction increases with increasing surface roughness, as represented by the equation. Further, dynamic friction is an increasing function of the wear rate. Micrographs of pure epoxy without fillers shows traces after pin-on-disk testing, with tears, breaks and cracks. For the composites, we observe simpler and relatively homogeneous surfaces.

Keywords:
boron-containing waste; epoxy composites; abrasive wear; dynamic friction; shore hardness; roughness