• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.967-972
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• 2004

The role of transfer films formed during sliding of polymer composites against steel counterfaces was studied in terms of the tribological behaviors of composites. Four kinds of composites were included in this study: (1) unfilled PPS, (2) PPS+2%CuO, (3) PPS+2%CuO+5% carbon fiber (CF), and (4) PPS+2%CuO+15%Kevlar. The filler material CuO was in nanoscale particulate form and the reinforcing material was in the form of short fibers. The composites were prepared by compression molding at $310^{\circ}C$ and sliding tests were run in the pin-on-disk sliding configuration. The counterface was made of tool steel hardened to 55-60 HRC and finished to a surface roughness of 0.09-0.10 ${\mu}m$ Ra. Wear tests were run for 6 hrs at the sliding speed of 1 m/s and contact pressure of 0.65 MPa. Transfer films formed on the counterfaces during sliding were investigated using AFM and SEM. The results showed that as the transfer film became smooth and uniform, wear rate decreased. PPS+2%CuO+15%Kevlar composite showed the lowest steady state wear rate in this study and its transfer film showed the smoothest and the most uniform characteristics. The examination of worn surfaces of PPS+2%CuO composite using X-ray area scanning (dot mapping) showed back-transfer of steel counterface material to the polymer pin surface. This behavior is believed to strengthen the polymer pin surface during sliding thereby contributing to the decrease in wear rate.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.180-188
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• 1999

The dynamic elastic properties of metal matrix composites were investigated by resonant ultrasound spectroscopy(RUS). The composites used in this study consisted of 2124 aluminum alloy reinforced with different concentrations of SiC particles. RUS can determine the nine independent elastic stiffness($C_{ij}$) for the orthorhombic symmetry on a small specimen simultaneously. The elastic constants were determined as a function of the volume fraction. A concept of effective aspect ratio. which combine the aspect ratio and the orientation of reinforcement. was used to calculate the initial moduli from Mori-Tanaka theory for the input of RUS minimization code. Young's moduli can be obtained from the measured stiffnesses. The results show that the elastic stiffness increases with increment of the particle content. The behavior of elastic stiffness indicates that the particle redistribution induced by the extrusion process enlarges the transversely isotropic symmetry as the fraction of reinforced particles increase. This relationship could be used for determination of the volume fractions of reinforcement as a potential tool of nondestructive material characterization.