(210d) Quantitive Analysis On Wear Debris of Carbon Nanofiber/High Density Polyethylene Composites

ABSTRACT

Polymeric
nanocomposites are promising to be employed as components in various mechanical
devices. During sliding motion, the wear debris of composite materials with
different interfacial interactions between the nanofillers and polymer matrix generated
on the sliding surface shows distinct particle size distributions and contents
of constituents. In this study, we aimed to characterize quantitatively the
wear debris of carbon nanofiber (CNF); reinforced high-density polyethylene
(HDPE) composites. The particle size distribution of the wear debris was
analyzed by optical microscope images first. The influences of various CNFs (untreated
and organosilane treated) on debris components were realized by both Differential
Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) measurements.
In addition, the individual wear particle morphology of the nanocomposites
observed with a scanning electron microscopic (SEM). The results revealed that
the lower percentage of large debris particles and the drop in heat capacity of
wear debris in the modified CNF composites with silanized CNFs were associated
with the enhanced interface between the nanofibers and the polymer matrix.