Comparative tribological behavior studies on ceramic coated, blended, and functionally graded polymer composites

Abstract This study presents a comparative analysis of the tribological performance of polymer composites with ceramic additions, focusing on the variations in the method of ceramic particle incorporation. The incorporation of ceramic particles into the polymer was executed through three distinct methods: surface coating, blending with the resin, and functionally grading composition. Hafnium carbide was chosen as the filler, epoxy resin as the binder, and 10 wt% of hafnium carbide particles were added. The pin on disc wear testing method was conducted to quantify the wear loss and determine the wear rate. The findings indicate that the functionally graded composites exhibited superior performance compared to both the coated and blended composite specimens. The functionally graded composite specimen exhibited the lowest wear rate of 2.31 × 10 −7 kg Nm −1 , followed closely by the coated specimens, which also demonstrated minimal wear rates. The analysis revealed that the wear rate spiked in the blended specimens due to a reduced exposure of ceramic fillers on their surfaces, leading to a direct interaction of the epoxy matrix with the friction surface, which results in increased material wear. The functionally graded composition exhibited enhanced wear resistance, attributed to the various protective characteristics provided by the ceramic functionally graded layers.