Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to provide broad information on the solid particle erosion behavior of polymeric composites using waste marble dust as the filler. Attention is paid toward the effects of test parameters, i.e., impingement velocity, filler content, striking angle, etc., on the erosion wear rate, and their failure mechanisms are discussed. Marble dust, the filler material in this work, is an industrial/construction waste generated during the processing of marble rocks and is a known air pollutant. The possibility of incorporating waste marble dust to enhance the erosion resistance of polyester is explored in this research. The parameter combinations obtained from the Taguchi's L-25 orthogonal array are used for the erosion wear trials on the composite samples. The analysis of test results reveals that impingement velocity, filler content and striking angle in that sequence have significant effect on the erosion rate. Statistical analysis is made on the test results carried out on the composite samples using different levels within the test range of the significant parameters individually keeping all other parameters constant to explore their effect more precisely on the erosion rate. Analysis of the morphologies of worn composite surfaces reveals the predominant wear mechanisms and the erosion response (ductile/brittle) of the composites. This work shows that inclusion of various fillers into polymeric composites improves the erosion resistance which would attract the researchers to find out their application as tribo-materials.