Tribological investigations of glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites under oil lubrication conditions

• Tribological behaviors of short glass fibers (SGF) reinforced epoxy (EP) composites when lubricated with base oil were investigated.
• SGF significantly reduces both the friction coefficient and the wear rate of EP under oil lubrication conditions.
• The formation of a tribofilm on the metallic counterface and the transfer of materials between composite and counterpart play an important role on the tribological performance.

The tribological performance of short glass fibers (SGF), solid lubricants and silica nanoparticles filled epoxy (EP) composites was investigated under oil lubrication conditions. It is demonstrated that the addition of SGF greatly reduces the friction and wear of EP. However, further addition of solid lubricants and silica nanoparticles does not change obviously the friction and wear. It is identified that the high tribological performance of SGF reinforced EP is related to the high load carrying capacity and abrasion resistance of SGF. The nanostructure of the tribofilm was comprehensively characterized. It is deemed that the tribofilm plays an important role in the tribological performance by avoiding the direct rubbing of the sliding pairs exposed to boundary and mixed lubrication conditions.

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