Research article

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The abrasive sliding friction and wear behaviours of silicon carbide (SiC) filled vinylester (VE) composites were investigated. The average grain size of the incorporated SiC particles was varied, holding the volume content of them in every case at 16 vol%. Mechanical properties (hardness, compression modulus, yield stress) of the filled and neat VE were determined. The tribological properties were investigated in block (composite) – on – ring (steel) test configuration. The steel counter bodies were covered with abrasive papers of different graining. Coefficient of friction (COF) and specific wear rate of the VE + SiC composites were determined. It was observed that the wear resistance increases with increasing average filler grain size and with decreasing abrasiveness of the counter surface. The COF of the VE + SiC composites is independent of the size of the incorporated particles, but it is strongly influenced by the abrasiveness of the counter body. The worn surfaces of the VE + SiC systems were analysed in scanning electron microscope (SEM) to deduce the typical wear mechanisms. The size effect of the SiC filler particles onto the abrasive wear characteristics was investigated by assuming that the roughness peaks of the abrasive paper and the indenter of the microhardness test cause similar micro scaled contact deformations in the composites. Therefore FE method was used to simulate the micro scaled deformation process in the VE + SiC systems during microindentation tests. The FE results provided valuable information on how to explain the size effect of the incorporated SiC filler.