Investigation of Tribo‐Thermal Performance of Glass Fabric–Reinforced Epoxy Composites by Incorporating Multilayer Graphenes

ABSTRACT Glass fabric–reinforced epoxy (GF/EP) composites have progressively become an important design material due to their increasing applications to build sliding components by combining with metal counterparts. Multilayer graphenes (MLGs) are known to be a very good solid lubricant with layer lattice structure and a popular ingredient of friction material, which can reduce friction fluctuation and improve wear resistance. However, the tribo‐potential of the GF/EP composites in environmental sliding conditions, incorporated with MLGs in oil and inert gas (argon), has never been explored. Results indicate that the addition of 1 wt.% of MLGs reduced the coefficient of friction (COF) and specific wear rate (SWR) of the GF/EP composites by 21% and 28% under dry as well as 45% and 50% under inert gas conditions, respectively. However, under oil‐lubricated conditions, the lowest COF of 0.16 and SWR of 8.38 × 10 −6 mm 3 /Nm were obtained at an applied load of 120 N. In this connection, modification of the worn surfaces of composites and steel counterparts was studied as well by non‐contact 3D surface profiler and FESEM to find the plausible wear mechanisms and tribo‐film. Thermogravimetric analysis results confirmed that the thermal stability of the GF/EP composites augmented with the inclusion of graphene.