Experimental analysis on mechanical properties and three-body abrasive wear behavior of microcrystalline cellulose filled natural fiber composites

The impact of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) on the mechanical, physicochemical, and tribological properties of hemp fabric–reinforced epoxy (HF/Ep) hybrid composites is examined in this work. Different MCC contents were used to construct the composites (0 wt% (M0), 3 wt% (M1), 6 wt% (M2), and 9 wt% (M3)). Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), hardness, impact strength, and three-body abrasive wear testing were used to assess the impacts of MCC integration. The results showed that MCC greatly improved the composites’ toughness and hardness, with impact strength improving by about 83% and Shore D hardness rising from 83 (M0) to 89 (M3). While XRD patterns showed increased crystallinity with increasing MCC content, FTIR examination verified enhanced interfacial contacts between the MCC, hemp fibers, and epoxy matrix. Wear loss was significantly reduced in three-body abrasive wear tests, especially for the M2 composition, which reached a maximum reduction of about 68.6% under extreme loading conditions. Increased surface hardness, greater load transfer, efficient crack deflection, and the development of a protective tribolayer during abrasion were all identified as contributing factors to the improved wear performance. These findings show that the structure-property-wear correlations of HF/Ep composites may be successfully tailored by controlled MCC incorporation, making them appropriate for wear-resistant, lightweight engineering applications.