The Tribological Mechanism of Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride) Composites Reinforced with Carbon Fibers

Abstract

The current study examines the tribological performance of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and carbon fiber-reinforced poly(vinylidene fluoride) (CF/PVDF) under dry sliding condition. Different contents of carbon fibers were employed as reinforcement. All filled and unfilled polyimide composites were tested against CGr15 ball and representative testing was performed. The effects of carbon fiber content on tribological properties of the composites were investigated. The worn surface morphologies of neat PVDF and its composites were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the wear mechanisms were discussed. Moreover, all filled PVDFs have superior tribological characteristics to unfilled PVDFs. The optimum wear reduction was obtained when the content of carbon fiber is 20 vol%.