Lubricated Abrasion Study of Bio-fibre (Paddy Straw) and Cockle- Shell Using Pin-on-disk Method

In this work, paddy straws and cockle shells were chosen due to their availability and potential as green composites after being harvested. The idea is that sustainability initiated from trash to treasure has given an impetus to utilise paddy straws and cockle shells to become useful composite fillers. Firstly, the collected paddy straws were cut into small sizes while cockle shells were crushed, blended and sieved before fabrication of the composite. The composite was prepared using a conventional compression molding. The specimen was tested under lubricated condition with different sliding speeds using the rotating pin-on-disc at constant applied load. In comparison, bio-shell composite has the least wear rate and coefficient of friction while pure polypropylene has the highest wear rate and coefficient of friction. The results show that with the addition of cockle shell powders or paddy straw, the wear rate and coefficient of friction of the material decreases with a minute degree of changes in their properties. Furthermore, the morphology of the tested specimens was also observed under a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for better justification of the wear mechanism.