Nano-CT characterization of the microstructure in the nonwoven polishing wheel

This research presents an approach to characterize the 3D microstructure of the abrasive, epoxy resin, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber, and porosity in a nonwoven polishing wheel using the nano-computed tomography (nano-CT). The 0.8 μm pixel size nano-CT scanning enables detailed spatial reconstruction of a wheel sample to measure the size, spacing, volumetric ratios and connectivity of abrasive, resin, fiber, and porosity. Results show that the SiC is long and angular and lumped in regions, the resin connects the SiC and fiber, and the fiber is entangled in various ways to form the structure of the nonwoven wheel.