Effect of cellulose nanocrystal reinforcement on erosion wear resistance of sisal/Areca/epoxy hybrid biocomposite

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have emerged as a promising bio-based reinforcing material and are widely used to enhance the performance of polymer composites. The present study investigates the effect of CNC reinforcement on the abrasive erosion wear behaviour of sisal/areca/epoxy hybrid biocomposites. Hybrid biocomposites incorporating varying weight fractions of CNCs (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 3) were fabricated using the hand lay-up technique. The prepared hybrid biocomposites were subjected to erosion wear tests under several impingement angles (30°, 45°, 60° and 90°) and erodent velocities (25, 50, 75 and 100 m/s) to evaluate their wear performance. Statistical analysis was also performed to study the effect of factors on erosion rate. A general linear regression model was developed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the surface morphology of the eroded samples. The experimental results and statistical analysis revealed that the incorporation of CNCs significantly influences the erosion wear resistance of the sisal/areca/epoxy hybrid biocomposites. Among all compositions, the hybrid biocomposite reinforced with 1.5 wt.% CNCs exhibited the optimum erosion wear resistance, showing up to a 63% reduction in erosion rate compared with the hybrid composite without CNCs at an impact velocity of 25 m/s and an impact angle of 60°. Further, it was also observed that 1 wt. % CNC-reinforced hybrid biocomposite showed ∼1.5 wt. % wear resistance. This study demonstrates that a small addition of CNC can effectively improve the erosion wear resistance of sisal/areca/epoxy hybrid biocomposites, highlighting its potential for advanced composite applications.