Three-body abrasive wear behaviour of particulate-filled glass–vinyl ester composites

The incorporation of silicon carbide (SiC) and graphite fillers on three-body abrasive wear behaviour of glass–vinyl ester (G–V) composites has been investigated. Dry sand/rubber wheel abrasion tests (RWAT) were carried out at 200 rpm test speed. The tests were carried out at 22 and 32 N loads by varying the abrading distance from 270 to 1080 m in steps of 270 m. The worn surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The wear volume and specific wear rate of G–V composite reduces significantly on the addition of SiC filler. Graphite filler, however, performed poorly resulting deterioration in wear performance of SiC-filled G–V composite. The SEM studies indicate the reasons for failure of composites and influencing parameters.