Sliding Wear Properties of Palm/Glass Fiber

Hybrid Reinforced Vinylester Resin

Abderrazek Merzoug1,2,3(&), Yasin Akgul2,3, Bachir Bouhamida1,

Zouaoui Sereir1, and Ali Kilic2,3
1
Laboratoire de Structures de Composites et Matériauxinnovants,
FacultédeGénieMécanique, Universitédes Sciences et de la Technologie d’Oran,
USTO, BP 1505 El M’naouer, Oran of south Algeria, Algeria
[email protected]
2
TEMAG Labs, Faculty of Textile Technology and Design, Istanbul Technical
University, Istanbul, Turkey
[email protected]
3
Areka Advanced LLC, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract. In this work, an experimental investigation was proposed for the

evaluation the wear resistance of hybrid polymer composite inter-layer of
Petiole date palm fiber (PDPF) and glass fiber (GF). In order to enhance the
interfacial of hydrophobic fibers (PDPF) and hydrophilic (Vinylester resin),
chemical treatment was proposed based on 5% NaOH for 48 h. Besides, the
glass fiber (woven) was used in order to increase the specific stiffness and the
dimensional stability of specimens. The manufacturing of four hybrids speci-
mens was done using a VARTM process [(30PDPF/0GF), (20PDPF/10GF),
(10PDPF/20GF) and (0PDPF/30GF)]. The wear characteristics were evaluated
at a sliding distance of (1000 m), sliding velocity (1.7 m/s) and applied loads
(20 and 40 N). Scanning electron microscopy was performed on both treated
alkali fiber and worn surfaces of hybrid specimens to evaluate the surface
modification and wear mechanisms, respectively. The adding of glass fiber to
PDP fibers was advantageous on the wear resistance, where it improved the
wear resistance of 30PDPF/0GF around 190 and 310% as compared to
(20PDPF/10GF) and (10PDPF/20GF), respectively. The adding of loads was
disproportional to wear resistance. The SEM of worn surfaces showed
debonding and bending of fibers, and fragmentation, fiber broken, and defor-
mation on the resinous regions. In the end, the hybridization by 20% of glass
fibers exhibits a high wear resistance relative to its nature (partially bio-friendly)
and price.

Keywords: Petiole date palm fibers
Hybridization
VARTM process
Wear

resistance
Worn surfaces

1 Introduction

The polymer composite materials are covering wide interest in various engineering
fields. In particular, the marine structure application, because these materials exhibit
low density, high specific strength and specific modulus as compared to the

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104 A. Merzoug et al.

conventional materials (metal and alloys) [1]. Due to the easiest manufacturing, low
cost and lightweight, the composite materials dominate in many other applications such
as pipeline, high speed vehicles, water turbine and aircraft engine blades [2]. In con-
trast, the fibers used as reinforcement in these composite are petrochemical nature
(Carbon, graphite and glass fibers … etc.). Where, it has negative effects on the
environment and also involves various health hazards [3].
Thanks to the bio-friendly, low density, less high mechanical properties and as well
as the economical benefit of industries, the natural fibers are becoming better alter-
natives to the synthetic fibers as reinforcements [4]. These natural fibers are composed
of lingo-cellulose components, which contain strongly polarized hydroxyl groups [5].
The hydrophilic nature of these fibers leads to poor adhesion with hydrophobic
matrices. Therefore, the combination of both constituents gives high water absorption.
The interfacial adhesion is one of the most efficient parameters to obtain good and
stable properties. This last can be improved by the modification of the matrix and/or
natural fibers. In order to improve the surface modification of fibers, many studies have
been done using chemical treatment [6–9]. The hybridization systems are proposed
from many types of research to enhance the strength, stiffness and as well as moisture
resistance and less cost ratio as compared to their properties. The hybrid composite can
be composed of more than one kind of reinforcements in the same matrix, known as the
combination of two reinforcements types be the most beneficial [10].
The presence of bio-composite materials in these application fields required high
tribological properties. The industry and scientific researchers have met a high case
number of failure mechanical parts when being subjected to tribological loading con-
dition [11]. Therefore, it becomes important to evaluate the wear and frictional char-
acteristics of bio-composite materials. Few studies have been done on the tribological
performance of natural fiber reinforced polymeric matrixes. Shuhimi et al. [12] studied
the tribological performances of epoxy resin reinforced by kenaf fiber and oil palm fiber
under temperature effects and content amount; they obtained that increasing of tem-
perature decreases the friction coefficient and increase the wear rates. They also showed
that fiber content amount increases the wear resistance for both composites. Stapathy
et al. [13] achieved an implementation of the artificial neural network (ANN) in ana-
lyzing the wear behavior of wood pine dust reinforced new class of epoxy filled matrix.
They found that enhancement of sliding wear is by the adding pine wood dust. Besides,
the filler content sliding velocity and normal load factors are affecting significantly on
the specific wear rate. Yousif et al. [14], compared the friction coefficient and wear
resistance of untreated and alkali treatment of oil palm as reinforcement of polyester
resin. The sliding distance, the load applied and sliding velocity (0.85–3 km, 30–100 N
and 1.7–3.9 m/s respectively) were the parameters studied. The untreated and treated
oil-palm fibers improved the properties of the composite by about 40–70% and 40–
80%. Besides, the interfacial between fibers and resin has highly influenced the
characteristics.
Vinyl ester resin is a mixture of epoxy and polyester resins. Where, it gives good
properties as compared to the easiest manufacturing and lower costs. The authors study
the wear resistance properties of Petiole Date Palm/glass Fiber combined with Viny-
lester Resin composite material using pin-on test. To enhance the properties, the
authors made an alkali treatment of PDPF fiber and added different amounts of glass
 Sliding Wear Properties of Palm/Glass Fiber Hybrid … 105

fibers. Also, is an attempt to reduce the synthetic fibers amount in the environment and
valorization the waste of biomass. Based on SEM observations, the interpretation of the
worn surfaces was done.

2 Experimental

2.1 Materials
Date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera) is a closely connected to the human life, it is grown
in arid and semi-arid region of the world. Algeria has over than 18 million trees which
occupy 1640 km2. Every picking season, large quantities of date palm petiole, rachis
and leave waster are accumulated in the agricultural land [3]. The fibers were obtained
from a petiole date palm (PDP) tree part of Biskra region. The extraction of fiber method
consists to immerse the petiole wood in a water bath for 72 h in room temperature.
Where the wood will be soft, we can easily remove the fibers by hand. To enhance the
surface modification of fibers, an alkali treatment of 5% NaOH for 48 h was done. In
order to increase the strength and stiffness, the E-glass fibers were obtained in roving
form from Dostkimya (Istanbul, Turkey). Its areal density was 49 g/m2. Vinyl ester resin
(Poliya 702), methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEK-P) and cobalt naphthenate 6% were
obtained from Dost Kimya Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey (Fig. 1).

2.1.1 Morphology Analysis

The PDPF diameter is measured using a ZEISS optical microscope equipped with a
Moticam 2500 camera digitally controlled by Motic Images Plus V2.0 image pro-
cessing program. Besides, Carl Zeiss ultra plus Gemini FESEM scanning electronic
microscopy was used for the examination surface fiber modification before and after
treatment. Where the magnification was used is 500X. The fibers were coated with gold
before subjecting it to SEM. the surface structure of untreated and treated of PDP fibers
are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. From the comparison, the untreated fiber had smooth
surfaces, covered by layers of substances like a wax and impurities. However, the
surfaces morphologies of PDPF treated were rough and significantly better as com-
pared to untreated fiber. Which, it could be attributed to the removal of the hemicel-
luloses and lignin components and packing of cellulose chains. Several works have
known the same remarks [15–17]. This morphological changing was affected directly
on the fibers diameters Fig. 2. Rachid et al. [3] have known the same remarks
(Table 1).

2.2 Hybrid Composite Processing

After the washing and the drying of PDP fibers, we chopped the length of PDPFs (60–
120 mm) to prepare nonwoven mat of 600 g/m2 areal density. Four inter-laminate
composites based on PDPFs/glass woven fabric were prepared. Where, the weight
fraction was fixed to 30:70 of the reinforcement and the matrix, respectively. The glass
fabric was adopted on the top and the bottom of PDPFs. The configuration of speci-
mens is given in Table 2.
106 A. Merzoug et al.

Fig. 1 Preparation of the alkali treated PDPFs, a Date palm tree, b Petiole of date palm wood,
c Extracted fibers, d drying in oven at 50 °C

(a) (b)

Fig. 2 Optical microscopy image of longitudinal surfaces of PDPF, a untreated fiber, b 5%

NaOH for 48 h
 Sliding Wear Properties of Palm/Glass Fiber Hybrid … 107

Fig. 3 Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of longitudinal surfaces of PDPF, a untreated fiber,
b 5% NaOH for 48 h

Table 1 Measurements of PDP fibers diameters

Fibers Untreated Treated
Diameters (µm) 145.54 ± 2.26 134.14 ± 3.34

Table 2 Hybrids specimens configuration

Hybrid specimens PDP fiber (%) Glass fiber (%) Vinylester resin (%)
30PDPF/0GF 30 0 70
20PDPF/10GF 20 10 70
10PDPF/20GF 10 20 70
0PDPF/30GF 0 30 70

The vacuum resin transfer assistant (VARTM) process was used for the preparation
of composites hybrid. All samples were fabricated over a cleaned glass plate. Poly-
urethane release film was placed on the top of the glass surface for easier removing of
the final composite. To ensure the resin flow across the samples and established an
even mold, two spiral pipes were then placed on the top edges of top layer for inlet and
outlet resin, the first was connected to the resin bucket and the other connect to vacuum
pump. After, peel ply and perforated film were added on the top surfaces of the hybrid
composite, respectively. In order to prepare the resin mixture and injected inside, the
infusion system was working well. Samples were set to consolidate for 24 h (Fig. 4).
108 A. Merzoug et al.

Fig. 4 VARTM process preparation, a inter-layer the samples, b adding the perforated release
film, c lunch the process

3 Specimens Characterization

3.1 Wear Test

The wear resistance of the hybrids samples based on PDPF and GF were evaluated
using a pin-on-disc tester. UTS Tribometer Test Machine (Karabuk University, Turkey)
was used to investigate wear properties of samples at 20–25 °C temperature and the
relative humidity of 30–45%. The wear tests were performed for all samples under
loads of 20 and 40 N. Sliding distance and velocity were kept constant as 1000 m and
1.7 m/s, respectively (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5 UTS tribometer t10/20 device

3.2 Morphology Analysis

The worn surfaces of the hybrid specimens after testing were studied using Field
Emission Scanning electron microscopy (Carl Zeiss Ultra Plus). Before taking the
micrographs, the specimens were coated with a gold using plasma device. Due to their
sensible state, magnifications ranging from 100X to 1 KX were proposed.
 Sliding Wear Properties of Palm/Glass Fiber Hybrid … 109

4 Results and Discussion

4.1 Wear Rate
The weight loss of the hybrid samples was determined after testing, using a balance of
±0.01 mg. following the relation (2 and 3), the wear rate (WR) and specific wear rate
(SWR) was determined.
Wear rate:

Dm
WR ¼
qL

The specific wear rate is the ratio of wear rate by the load applied Fn.
A Specific wear rate:

WR Dm 1
SWR ¼ ¼
ð3Þ
Fn qL Fn

where, Dm is the loss weight recorded during the test (g). q is the specimen density in
(g/cm3) and L is the sliding distance traveled (m).
Figure 6 illustrates the specific wear rate of hybrid specimens having different
PDPF and glass fibers amount. The hybrid 0PDPF/30GF shows the highest wear
resistance (0.015  10−2 mm3/Nm), followed by 10PDPF/20GF. Due to its good
interfacial with the matrix, high mechanical properties and its fiber direction (normal to
the sliding movements) [18], the glass fabric has increased significantly the wear
resistance of hybrid specimens. However, the lowest wear resistance is noted to
30PDPF/0GF hybrid specimens, due to the low mechanical properties of PDPF, the
random distribution and its poor adhesion with vinyl ester resin comparatively to
GF/resin.
The effect of applied load on specific wear rate for PDPF/GF hybrid reinforced
vinylester is shown in Fig. 7. It observes an increase in specific wear rate with an
increase in applied load for all samples. The specific wear rate of 0PDPF/30GF was
increased by 64% as compared to that specific wear rate under 20 N. Besides, the
30PDPF/0GF was slightly increased by 34%. The proportionality between the specific
wear rate and applied load implies a higher weight loss rate. The authors achieved
similar results for polymer composite materials [19]. In comparison, when we have
applied 40 N, we observed a distortion and instability dimensional of samples at dif-
ferent levels. It could be due to the repeated high axial trust while sliding. Besides, the
poor tribological performance of polymer composite material and its low thermal
property can affect on the dimensional stability. Therefore, the samples got stuck on
counterface at higher load. Due to the direction of fibers and the combination of high
thermal properties (GF) and the good viscoelastic properties (PDPF), the hybrid
specimen 10PDPF/20GF has known the highest wear resistance.
110 A. Merzoug et al.

0.10

0.08
Specific wear rate * 10-2 [mm3/N.m]

0.06 Load 20N

0.04

0.02

0.00
30PDPF/0GF 20PDPF/10GF 10PDPF/20GF 0PDPF/30GF

Hybrid specimens

Fig. 6 Graph of specific wear rate versus hybrid specimens

0.14

30PDPF/0GF
0.12 20PDPF/10GF
Specific wear rate*10 [mm /N.m]

10PDPF/20GF
0PDPF/30GF
3

0.10
-2

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0.00
20 40
Normal Load [N]

Fig. 7 Effects of loading on the specific wear rate of PDPF/GF hybrid specimens

4.2 Morphology Analysis

Figure 8a, b, c, d shows the microscopic observation of worn hybrid specimens under
20 N loading. Removal top layer of resin, fibers debonded, micro-pitting, fragmenta-
tion and partially broken of glass fibers were the main wear mechanisms. The Pits were
produced due to adhesion between pin and counterface. Figure 8a shows the worn
surface of pure PDPF reinforced the vinyl ester resin. Where, the effect of alkali
 Sliding Wear Properties of Palm/Glass Fiber Hybrid … 111

treatment of fibers was considerably (good interfacial). Further, 30PDPF/0GF hybrid

had known a removal of higher resin material comparatively to the others, due to the
random distribution of fibers. Plus, it could be due to the presence of micro-porosity
[14]. The adding of glass fibers is influenced significantly on the resin interfacial (b, c
and d). The glass fabric layout showed an important role in wear resistance. Where, the
direction of fiber in parallel to the normal force resisted more than that perpendicular
direction (tensile stress resistance). However, the other direction was easy to be
damaged and broken.

Fig. 8 SEM of worn surface of hybrid specimens under 20 N loading: a 30PDPF/0GF,

b 20PDPF/10GF, c 10PDPF/0GF and d 00PDPF/30GF

Figure 9a, b, c, d shows the microscopic observation of worn hybrid specimens

under 40 N loading. The increasing of loading was intense considerably to the wear
mechanisms. Moreover, due to the high thermo-mechanical loading and high sliding
distance (1000 m) leads to the softening of hybrid surfaces. Where, it produced
112 A. Merzoug et al.

fragmentations and broken fibers [14]. The hybrid 10PDPF/20GF shows the high
dimensional stability surfaces as compared to others. It could be due to both properties
(thermo-mechanical and viscoelastic) of glass fiber and petiole date palm fiber,
respectively. We suggest that the use of PDPF like cores, because they are more
appropriate to enhance the wear resistance of synthetic fibers and reducing the envi-
ronmental impact.

Fig. 9 SEM of worn surface of hybrid specimens under 40 N loading: a 30PDPF/0GF,

b 20PDPF/10GF, c 10PDPF/0GF and d 00PDPF/30GF

5 Conclusion

The following points are drawn from the experimental investigation results:
1. The alkali treatment at 5% NaOH for 48 h was affected significantly on the surface
modification of fibers. Where, it directly eliminated the impurities and wax layer
around the fiber core. In parallel, the diameter was reduced.
 Sliding Wear Properties of Palm/Glass Fiber Hybrid … 113

2. The adding of glass fiber amount increased the wear resistance considerably of
hybrid specimens by 190 and 300%. Because of its high thermo-mechanical
properties of glass fibers and fiber orientation (roving woven).
3. The wear mechanism of hybrids specimens was predominated by removal and
sliding of vinyl ester (especially in pure PDPF hybrid), debonding, micro-pitting,
fragmentation and perpendicular (to the sliding direction) glass fiber broken.
4. The worn surface of 10PDPF/20GF shows less damage compared to others. There
was the optimum amount combination of both viscoelastic (PDPF) and thermo-
mechanical properties (GF).

Acknowledgements. The authors would like give a grateful acknowledges to AREKA LLC for
the financial support of this work.

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