Mechanical and abrasive wear performance of woven flax fabric/polyoxymethylene composites

We report an investigation on the abrasive wear behaviors of flax fabric-reinforced polyoxymethylene (POM) composites. The effect of weave structure on the friction coefficient and wear rate of the composites varied according to the level of applied load and sliding speed. Incorporation of the flax fabrics could reduce the wear rate by as much as 4-fold at high load and high sliding speed conditions and could improve the mechanical properties of POM significantly. By careful choice of the weave structure, this low wear rate could be achieved without increasing the friction coefficient. The wear mechanisms of the composites were discussed in detail based on evidences from scanning electron microscopy. It was concluded that the formation of transfer film and the weave structure of flax fabric had an important impact on the wear performances of the composites.