Chemically treated Acacia nilotica filler-reinforced epoxy composites: tribological studies and optimization of process parameters.

The current trend is the ecological consciousness of replacing synthetic fibers with natural fiber. However, several restrictions exist on using natural fibers/fillers, including compatibility, hydrophobicity, and locality. The natural material chosen for the present investigation, Acacia nilotica, is short and cylindrical; the same has been used as reinforcement after being chemically treated with silane and grinded into fillers in the present study. Grinded silane-treated A. nilotica fillers were added in a range of 0, 2, 4, and 6 weight percent to the epoxy matrix. Conventional hand layup was used to manufacture composite materials using epoxy resin and hardener. The manufactured composite's tribological properties were evaluated according to ASTM G99-17 using the pin-on-disk machine under two-body abrasive wear conditions. L-16 orthogonal arrays were used to conduct the research. Load, sliding distance, and material were the process input parameters, and the results were evaluated using the Specific Wear Rate (SWR) and Coefficient of Friction (COF). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the significant variables. EDAS was used to optimize the output. The abraded surfaces were finally studied using worn surface morphology. According to the findings, silane-treated A. nilotica filler is a new and promising resource as a sustainable raw material for reinforcement in polymer composites manufacturing lightweight materials. Results revealed that the optimized values were 6 wt%, load at 20 N, and sliding distance of 225 m. SWR values decreased by 61.2%, and COF values decreased by 34.3% in the case of 6 wt% composites compared to the unreinforced fiber composites. The rank of the sample was assigned according to performance by the EDAS process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]