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.