LAUSR

This paper aims to study the tribological properties of the natural fiber and commercially obtained glass fiber reinforcement into the unsaturated polyester (USP). The natural fibers used in this investigation are coconut coir and banana fibers. These are silane treated for their effective reinforcement in the composites. The different weight percentage of silane treated natural fibers and glass fibers are prepared through the compression molding process. Pin on disc wear test rig was used to investigate the wear resistance of the composites under different test parameters such as load on the pin, disc speed and weight fraction of fibers used in the composites — the experiments conducted as per the sequence generated by Taguchi's L16 orthogonal array. Later the results obtained were statistically analyzed through Analysis of Variance technique to evaluate the effect of various test parameters. The results indicate that weight fraction of fibers in the composites is significantly contributing to the wear resistance (96.11%) of the composites followed by the speed (1.85%) and load on the pin (1.79%). The worn surface of the specimens was studied by Scanning Electron Micrographic Analysis to evaluate different mechanisms responsible for the wear under different test conditions. The results show that ploughing fiber delamination and abrasion are in effect, contributing majorly for the wear of the composites.