Full Length Research Paper

Solid particle erosion of Bagasse fiber reinforced epoxy composite

Punyapriya Mishra and S. K. Acharya*

Department of Mechanical Engineering, NIT, Rourkela-769008, Orissa India.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: drsamirka@yahoo.com. Tel: 91-09437248460. Fax: 0661-2472926.

Accepted December 14, 2009.

   Abstract

Experiments were carried out to study the effects of impingement angle and particle velocity on the solid particle erosion behavior of Bagasse Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites (BFRPCs). The erosive wear is evaluated at different impingement angles from 30° to 90° at four different velocities of 48, 70, 82 and 109 m/s. The erodent used is silica sand with the size range 150 – 250 μm of irregular shape. The result shows brittle behavior with maximum erosion rate at 90° impingement angle. The morphology of the eroded surfaces was examined by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

Key words: Bagasse fiber, erosive wear, erodent, brittle fracture.