Friction and wear properties of polyacrylonitrile- and pitch-based carbon fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites containing silicon carbide nanoparticles

This study investigated the friction and wear properties of high-strength polyacrylonitrile (HS-PAN)-, high-modulus polyacrylonitrile (HM-PAN)-, and high-modulus pitch (HM-pitch)-based carbon fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites (CFRPs) with silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles. The fiber orientation of the CFRP specimens was set as 8-ply unidirectional laminates, denoted as [0]₈. Ball-on-disk (cyclic) wear testing was accompanied by laser, digital, and scanning electron microscope observations. For the HS-PAN CFRP, the coefficient of friction and wear resistance were the highest among the HM-PAN and HM-pitch CFRPs and wear resistance was improved by the addition of SiC-nanoparticles. Furthermore, there was no significant enhancement of wear resistance for the SiC-nanoparticle-filled and nanoparticle-unfilled HM-PAN CFRP. The wear resistance was improved by adding SiC-nanoparticles for the HM-pitch CFRP.