A study on erosive wear analysis of glass fiber–epoxy

Abstract

Aluminum nitride reinforced glass fiber epoxy resin composite was prepared by simple hand lay-up technique and its mechanical as well as erosion wear behavior were investigated. The interactive influence of various operational variables on specific wear behavior of composite materials has been studied thoroughly. It was observed that with increasing percentage of filler particles, there is a decline in tensile strength, but there is a significant improvement in hardness and erosion wear performance. Among all the factors, impact velocity is the most significant factor followed by filler percentage and impingement angle, while temperature has the least significance on erosion of the hybrid composite. Taguchi’s orthogonal arrays were used to identify the controlling factors influencing the erosion wear rate. Scanning electron microscopy studies were conducted to understand the erosion mechanism involved during the material removal process.

Keywords

Polymer matrix composite aluminum nitride thermal plasma erosive wear Taguchi’s orthogonal array

Introduction

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are used particularly in automotive, aircraft industries, manufacturing of spaceships, and sea vehicles.^1–3 Composite materials consist of resin or matrix and a reinforcement chosen to achieve the desired mechanical properties and applications.^4,5 The high specific strength and stiffness of polymers are primarily responsible for their wide application. However, the erosion resistance of polymers to solid particle has been found to be very poor.^6,7 To overcome such problem, a second phase is added to the polymer to form polymer matrix composite. As solid abrasive particles impinge against a target surface, it causes local damage combined with material removal. This kind of wear is generally referred to as erosion.⁸ The erosion wear behavior of engineering materials can be grouped into ductile and brittle categories although this grouping is not deﬁnitive because the erosion characteristics depend on the experimental conditions as much as on composition of the target material. It is known that impingement angle is one of the most important parameters in the erosion process and for ductile materials, the peak erosion normally occurs at 15°–20° angle while for brittle materials the erosion damage is maximum usually at normal impact, i.e. at 90° impingement angle.⁹ Due to operational requirements in dusty environment, the erosion characteristics of these composites are of vital importance. So a comprehensive understanding of the effects of all system variables on the wear rate is necessary in order to undertake appropriate steps in the design of machines/structural components and in the choice of materials to reduce/control this wear rate.

The erosion wear behavior of FRP composite systems as a function of fiber content has been studied in the past.^10,11 Several investigations on friction and wear properties of polyether ether ketone and its composites filled with fibers, organic, and inorganic fillers have been carried out.^12,13 Miyazaki and Hamao¹⁴ have examined the effect of fiber inclusion on the erosion behavior by comparing the erosion rate of FRP with that of a neat resin, which is a matrix material of the FRP. Tilly⁶ and Tilly and Sage¹⁵ tested nylon and epoxy reinforced with various fibers such as graphite, glass, and steel. They concluded that the reinforcement can either increase or decrease the erosion resistance depending on the type of fibers. Harsha and Jha¹⁶ have studied the effect of types of glass fiber on the erosion wear behavior of FRP. They concluded that the bi-directional glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite shows better wear resistance than unidirectional reinforced composite.

Recently, aluminum nitride (AlN) has attracted much attention because of its unique combination of properties like high thermal conductivity (∼320 W/mK), high electrical resistivity (>10¹⁶ Ωm), high wear resistance, low thermal expansion co-efficient (20–500℃, 4.6 × 10⁻⁶/K), and good mechanical properties.¹⁷ Many research papers have been published on thermal conductivity of polymer composite with AlN as filler,^18–20 but hardly any work on the study of erosion wear behavior of polymer matrix hybrid composite with AlN filler has been published.

The objective of the present investigation is to study the effect of inclusion of fine AlN powder on the erosive wear behavior of glass fiber reinforced epoxy under multiple impact conditions. An attempt has been made to optimize the process parameters for minimum erosion. Taguchi’s orthogonal arrays have been used to identify the controlling factors, which affect the erosion rate significantly.

Experimental details

Preparation of AlN powder using thermal plasma

The starting materials taken for the preparation of AlN were alumina (α-Al₂O₃, purity-99.5%, Grade-NSPL 20, NALCO, India) and activated charcoal (carbon content-81.3%, MERCK, India) powder. Alumina and activated charcoal powders in the weight ratio 5 : 3 were mixed with dextrin as binder and small granules were prepared. The granules were then dried to remove moisture. The granules were plasma treated in the atmosphere of ammonia (2 L/min) and argon (1 L/min) in an extended arc DC thermal plasma reactor (50 kW) for a pre-optimized time of 25 min. The granules were taken in a cylindrical graphite crucible (cathode) and the arc was struck. The length of the arc was adjusted by moving the upper electrode (anode) up and down by a rack and pinion arrangement. Argon gas helps in formation and stabilization of plasma arc and also it maintains a protective atmosphere inside the hearth whereas ammonia reacts with alumina yields AlN. Before the arc was struck both the gases, argon and ammonia were allowed to flow to flush out air from the hearth. The gas flow was continued even after the plasma treatment of the granules till the hearth was sufficiently cooled to prevent oxidation of the product. A typical plasma operating condition is presented in Table 1. The details of the reactor and reaction mechanism are described elsewhere.²¹

Table 1.

Typical parameters of extended arc thermal plasma reactor

Typical plasma forming parameters
Arc current (A)	300
DC load voltage (V)	50
Argon gas flow rate (L/min)	1
Ammonia gas flow rate (L/min)	2

The solid–solid reaction between α-Al₂O₃ and activated charcoal in NH₃ plasma via carbothermal reduction process resulted fine AlN powder with little unreacted carbon. Unreacted free carbon was removed by heating the plasma yield product in a muffle furnace at 700℃ for 2 h in air. The phase and crystallinity of the as-synthesized product was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The X-ray diffraction pattern of carbon-free AlN powder is shown in Figure 1. As seen from field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) picture (Figure 2), the as-synthesized AlN particles are fine, hexagonal, well faceted, and loosely agglomerated.

Figure 1.

X-ray diffraction pattern of fine AlN powder.

Figure 2.

FESEM micrograph of plasma synthesized fine AlN powder.

Composite fabrication

Epoxy (DGEBA, grade-LY 556), an aliphatic amine based hardener (TETA HY951, Ciba Geigy Ltd., India) and bi-directional woven roving E-glass fibers (Saint Gobain Ltd., India) were used for the preparation of FRP composite system. Composite samples (C1, C2, and C3) with particulate filler (AlN) of three different amounts (5, 10, and 15 wt%, respectively) with fixed glass fiber loading (50 wt%) were fabricated. Fabrication of the composite slabs was done by conventional hand lay-up technique followed by light compression molding technique. Before the respective fiber mats were reinforced into the matrix body, the AlN powders were mixed thoroughly in epoxy resin using a mechanical stirrer. The low temperature curing epoxy resin and hardener were mixed in a weight ratio of 10 : 1 as recommended. A stainless steel mold having dimension of 210 × 210 × 40 mm³ was used for casting. A releasing agent (silicone spray) was used to facilitate easy removal of the composite from the mold after curing. The cast of each composite was cured under a load of 50 kg for 24 h before it was removed from the mold. Then, the cast was post cured in the air for another 24 h. Specimens of suitable dimension were cut using a diamond cutter for physical characterization and mechanical testing. The designation and composition of the composites are presented in Table 2.

Table 2.

Composition of the composites

Designation of composites	Composition measured
C1	Epoxy + 50% glass fiber + 5% filler
C2	Epoxy + 50% glass fiber + 10% filler
C3	Epoxy + 50% glass fiber + 15% filler

Micro-hardness measurement was carried out using a Leco micro-hardness tester. A diamond indenter, in the form of a right pyramid with a square base and an angle 136° between opposite faces, was forced into the material under a load F. The two diagonals X and Y of the indentation left on the surface of the material after removal of the load were measured and their arithmetic mean L was calculated. In this study, the load considered F = 0.5 N and Vickers hardness number was calculated using the following equation.

H_{v} = 1.889 \frac{F}{L^{2}}

(1)

L = \frac{X + Y}{2}

(2)

where F is the applied load (N), L the diagonal of square impression (mm), X the horizontal length (mm), and Y the vertical length (mm). For more accuracy, we have calculated the average hardness value of five different positions on each sample.

The uniaxial tensile test was performed on flat specimens (dog-bone specimen and straight side specimen with end tabs) as per ASTM standard D 3039-76. The dimension of the test section was 200 × 10 × 3 mm³. The tensile test was performed in the universal testing machine Instron 1195 with crosshead speed of 5 mm/min.

The schematic diagram of erosion test rig confirming to ASTM G76 for the room temperature erosion test facility used in the present investigation is illustrated in Figure 3. It consists of an air compressor, a particle feeder, an air particle mixing, and accelerating chamber. The compressed air was allowed to mix with the particles fed at a constant rate (using the conveyor-belt-type feeder) in the mixing chamber. These fluidized particles were then accelerated by passing the mixer through a converging nozzle. These accelerated particles impact the specimen held at certain angles with respect to the impacting particle with the help of a sample holder. The feeding rate of the particles was controlled by monitoring the distance between particle feeding hopper and belt drive carrying the particles to the fluidized chamber. The impact velocities of the particles were varied by changing the pressure of the compressed air. By changing the orientation of the sample holder, the impact angle was varied. The velocity of the eroding particles was determined using standard double disc method.²² In this study, dry aluminum oxide powder (spherical) of different particle sizes (50, 100, and 200 µm) was used as erodent. Erosion test conditions are listed in Table 3. The samples were cleaned in acetone, dried, and weighed to an accuracy of ±0.1 mg before and after the erosion trials using a precision electronic balance. The weight loss was recorded for subsequent calculation of erosion rate. The process was repeated till the erosion rate attains a constant value, called steady-state erosion rate.

Figure 3.

Schematic diagram of the erosion rig.

Table 3.

The erosion test conditions

Sl no.	Test parameter	Type/value
1	Erodent	Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃)
2	Erodent size (µm)	100
3	Erodent shape	Spherical
4	Impact angle	30, 60, and 90
5	Impact velocity (m/s)	33, 47, and 57
6	Erodent feed rate (g/min)	7.9
7	Test temperature	50, 75, and 100
8	Nozzle to sample distance (mm)	10

Taguchi experimental design

Design of experiments (DOEs) using statistics is a scientific approach to effectively plan and perform experiments. In such designs, the combination of each factor at every level is studied to determine the combination that would yield the best result. The Taguchi method achieves the advantage of such design schemes that it will always determine the effect of factors and possible interactions (between factors) on the performance output. Taguchi DOE is a powerful analysis tool for modeling and analyzing the influence of control factors on performance output. The Taguchi method achieves the integration of DOEs with the parametric optimization of the process yielding the desired results. The orthogonal array requires a set of well balanced (i.e. minimum experimental runs) experiments. Taguchi method uses a statistical measure of performance called signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), which is a logarithmic function for optimization. The S/N ratio takes both the mean and variance into account. It is defined as the ratio of the mean (signal) to the standard deviation (noise). The ratio depends on the quality characteristics of the product/process to be optimized. Three categories of S/N ratio are used: lower-is-better, higher-the-better, and nominal-the-best. The DOE lies in the selection of the control factors. Therefore, initially a large number of factors are included so that insignificant variables can be identified at earliest opportunity. Exhaustive literature review on erosion behavior of polymer composites reveal that parameters namely, impact velocity, impingement angle, fiber loading, filler content, erodent size, temperature, etc., largely influence the erosion rate of polymer composites.^23–26 In this study, the impact of four such parameters was studied using L9 (3⁴) orthogonal design. The operating parameters and the selected levels are presented in Table 4. The tests were conducted at different temperatures as per experimental designs presented in Table 5, which give the operating conditions under which each erosion test had been carried out. Four parameters namely, velocity of impact, impingement angle, operating temperature, and filler percentage, each at three levels, were considered in this study. In Table 5, each of the second to fifth column represents a test parameter and a row gives a test condition which is nothing, but combination of parameter levels. Four parameters each at three levels would require 3⁴ = 81 runs in a full factorial experiment. Whereas, Taguchi’s factorial experiment approach reduces it to nine runs only offering a great advantage in terms of cost and time. The plan of the experiments was as follows: the second column is assigned to impact velocity (A), the third column to impingement angle (B), fourth column to temperature (C), and the fifth column to filler loading (D). The experimental observations are transformed into a S/N ratio. There are several S/N ratios available depending on the type of characteristics. The S/N ratio for minimum erosion rate coming under ‘smaller-is-better’ characteristic can be calculated as logarithmic transformation of the loss function as shown below.

‘ Smallerthe better ’ characteristic : \frac{S}{N} = - 10 \log \frac{1}{n} (\sum y^{2})

(3)

‘ Nominalthebetter ’ characteristics : \frac{S}{N} = - 10 \log \frac{1}{n} (\sum \frac{\bar{Y}}{s_{Y}^{2}})

(4)

‘ Largerthebetter ’ characteristics : \frac{S}{N} = - 10 \log \frac{1}{n} (\sum \frac{1}{y^{2}})

(5)

where n is the number of observations and y the observed data, which is average erosion rate.

Table 4.

Levels of the variables used in the experiment

Level
Control factor	I	II	III
A: Velocity of impact (m/s)	33	47	57
B: Impingement angle (°)	30	60	90
C: Temperature (℃)	50	75	100
D: AlN percentage (%)	5	10	15

Table 5.

Orthogonal array for L9 Taguchi design for composites with filler content C1, C2, and C3

Test run	Erodent velocity (m/s)	Impingement angle (°)	Temperature (℃)	Filler content (%)
1	33	30	50	5
2	33	60	75	10
3	33	90	100	15
4	47	30	75	15
5	47	60	100	5
6	47	90	50	10
7	57	30	100	10
8	57	60	50	15
9	57	90	75	5

Erosion mechanism

Material removal by impact erosion wear involves complex mechanisms. The erosion mechanism based on the assumption that the kinetic energy of the impinging particle is utilized to cause micro-indentation in the composite material and the material loss is a measure of indentation. The erosion is the result of cumulative damage of such non-interacting, single particle impacts. It is also assumed that the erodent particles to be rigid, spherical bodied of diameter equal to the average grit size. It assumes the volume of material lost in a single impact is less than the volume of indentation. The mechanism is based on the principle of simplified approach of energy conservation, which equals the erodent kinetic energy with the work done in creating the indentation. However, the material removal during erosion is dependent on many material related factors and experimental conditions like hardness, size, volume fraction, arrangement of fibers, properties of matrix, and interfacial bonding between fibers and matrix, etc. A simplified theoretical model based on the erosion wear was well described in previously published literature.²⁷

Results and discussion

Micro-hardness and tensile strength

The variation of composite micro-hardness as a function of weight fraction of AlN particulates is shown in Figure 4. Neat epoxy shows the average hardness of 13.7 HV. As the percentage of AlN increases, the hardness of composite increases significantly with erosion resistance, 15% of AlN-filled epoxy composite shows the maximum hardness of 35 HV. This increase in hardness with the inclusion of filler may be attributed to the hard AlN particles getting pressed together with polymeric matrix and makes intimate contact with each other more tightly.²⁸ Moreover, relatively uniform distribution of AlN particles and decrease in inter particle distance with increasing particle loading in the matrix results in increase of resistance to indentation of epoxy matrix. This can also be attributed to the surface coating AlN particles with a film of matrix which preventing the direct particle–particle contact.

Figure 4.

Variation of micro-hardness of composites with AlN content.

The results for tensile test are shown in Figure 5. It is observed that as the content of AlN particles increase, the tensile strength of composite decline gradually. Similar type of observation has been reported in published literature.²⁸ There can be two reasons for this decline in the strength of these particulate-filled composites. One possibility is that the chemical reaction at the interface between AlN particles and the matrix may be too weak to transfer the tensile stress; the other is that the irregular shaped plasma synthesized AlN particles act as stress raisers in the polymer matrix.²⁹

Figure 5.

Variation of tensile strength of GFRP composites with AlN content.

The reduction in tensile strength and improvement in hardness with the incorporation of filler can be explained as follows: under the action of tensile force, the filler matrix interface is vulnerable to bonding, depending on interfacial bond strength and this may lead to a break in the composite. But in case of hardness test, a compression or pressing stress is in action. So, the matrix phase and the solid filler phase would be pressed together and touch each other more tightly. Thus, the interface can transfer pressure more effectively although the interfacial bond may poor. This results in enhancement in hardness.

Steady-state erosion

Erosion behavior of the composites is generally ascertained by correlating erosion rate with impingement angle (α), erodent velocity, and erodent particle size. Erosion behavior strongly depends on impingement angle. Figure 6 shows the influence of impingement angle on steady-state erosion rate of epoxy and its composites. It can be seen that filling of composite with AlN particles reduces the wear rate of the glass epoxy composite quite significantly. For the filled composites (with 5, 10, and 15 wt% content) the value of α_max is found to be 75°. In this study, although the thermosetting polymer is ductile, the location of peak erosion has shifted to 60° from the usual 15–30° as it is reinforced with glass fiber (curve A). This shift in the erosion behavior is an indication of loss of ductility and is obviously attributed to the brittle fibers. Further shifting of α_max from 60° to 75° (curve B, C, and D) proves that the composites tend to become still more brittle with incorporation of AlN particles. The trend is similar for all the composites with AlN filler. Similar observation has been reported elsewhere.³⁰ Thus, it can be concluded that erosion performance of glass epoxy composites improves with AlN filling and this improvement is a function of filler content within the limit of this study.

Figure 6.

Variation of erosion rate with impingement angle.

Surface morphology

The surface microstructure of the eroded composite samples is observed under FESEM Zeiss, Supra-55. The morphologies of eroded surfaces were studied to identify the mode of material removed. Figure 7(a) and (b) represents the microstructure of the composite eroded at high-impact velocity (47 and 57 m/s) and at an impingement angle of 60° and 30°^. It shows local removal of epoxy material from the impacted surface resulting in exposure of the fibers to the erodent flux. The formation of transverse crack in the composite material is mainly due to particle impact on fiber which is clearly visible in SEM micrograph. The propagation of crack along transverse as well as longitudinal direction is well visualized. It is obvious from Figure 7(a) that the fibers are completely broken by means of shearing action and protruding of fibers from matrix is due to impingement of alumina particles at higher impact velocity. At higher impact velocity, continuous exposure of fibers to erosion environment results in fiber thinning and detachment of fibers from matrix. Cavities left after fiber being dislodged are also seen. Similar observation was observed in the literature Fouad et al.⁷ Figure 7(c) shows the microstructure of the AlN-filled composite eroded with high-impact velocity (57 m/s) at an impingement angle of 30°. It shows local removal of resin material from the impacted surface resulting in exposure of the fibers to the erodent flux. This micrograph Figure 7(d) also reveals that due to particle impact on glass fibers, there is formation of transverse cracks that break these fibers. The propagation of crack along transverse as well as longitudinal direction is well visualized. It appears that cracks have grown on the fibers giving rise to breaking of the fibers into small fragments. Further, the cracks have been annihilated at the fiber–matrix interface and seem not to have penetrated through the matrix. Figure 7(d) also shows the dominance of micro-chipping and micro-cracking phenomena. From Figure 7(b), it can be seen that multiple cracks originate from the point of impact, intersect one another and form wear debris due to brittle fracture in the fiber body as well as in the AlN particles present in the epoxy body. After repetitive impacts, the debris in platelet form is removed and account for the measured wear loss.

Figure 7.

SEM photomicrograph of eroded (a) 10% AlN-filled glass–epoxy composite (60° impingement angle and 75℃ temperature), (b) 5% AlN-filled glass–epoxy composite (30° impingement angle and 50℃ temperature), and (c) and (d) 5% AlN-filled glass–epoxy composite (30° impingement angle and 50℃ temperature) surface.

Taguchi analysis of the erosion test results

The erosion wear rate of AlN-filled glass epoxy matrix composites under various test conditions is presented in Table 6. In Table 6, the last columns represent S/N ratio of the erosion rate, which is in fact the average of three replications. The overall mean for the S/N ratio of the erosion rate is found to be −49.15 db of AlN composites (Table 7). The analysis is made using the software specifically used for DOE applications known as MINITAB 14. The effects of individual control factors influencing the erosion wear rates of AlN-filled glass epoxy composites are shown in Figure 8. Slope of each curve in the figure is a measure of the influence of that factor on the output. The S/N ratio response is also presented in Table 8. From the figure and the table, it can be concluded that among all the factors, impact velocity is the most significant factor followed by AlN percentage and impingement angle, while the temperature has the least or almost no significance on erosion of the reinforced composite. It also leads to the conclusion that factor combination of A1, B3, C3, and D2 (Table 8) gives minimum erosion rate.

Figure 8.

Effect of control factors on erosion rate (AlN-filled composites).

Table 6.

Taguchi orthogonal array (L9) and erosion test results for AlN-filled composites

(A) Velocity (m/s)	(B) Impingement angle (θ)	(C) Temperature (℃)	(D) Filler (%)	Pressure (bar)	Initial weight (g)	Final weight (g)	Difference (g)	(E) Erosion rate (mg/kg)
33	30	50	5	0.1	2.9642	2.956	0.00829	104.937
33	60	75	10	0.1	4.8891	4.885	0.00418	52.911
33	90	100	15	0.1	4.539	4.527	0.012	151.899
47	30	75	15	0.3	3.721	3.691	0.03	379.747
47	60	100	5	0.3	3.616	3.587	0.029	367.089
47	90	50	10	0.3	5.131	5.061	0.07	873.418
57	30	100	10	0.4	3.822	3.7775	0.0445	563.291
57	60	50	15	0.4	4.565	4.5378	0.02752	348.101
57	90	75	5	0.4	7.383	7.3313	0.05163	653.544

Table 7.

S/N ratio and erosion rate for different test conditions

A	B	C	D	E	S/N ratio
33	30	50	5	104.937	−40.4186
33	60	75	10	52.911	−34.470
33	90	100	15	151.899	−43.6311
47	30	75	15	379.747	−51.5899
47	60	100	5	367.089	−51.2954
47	90	50	10	873.418	−58.8244
57	30	100	10	563.291	−55.0147
57	60	50	15	348.101	−50.8341
57	90	75	5	653.544	−56.3055

S/N: signal-to-noise ratio.

Table 8.

Response for S/N ratios

Level	A	B	C	D
1	−39.51	−49.01	−50.03	−49.34
2	−53.90	−45.53	−47.46	−49.44
3	−54.05	−52.92	−49.98	−48.69
Delta	14.54	7.39	2.57	0.75
Rank	1	2	3	4

S/N: signal-to-noise ratio.

Conclusions

Experiments were carried out to study the effect of AlN filler materials on the erosion rate of E-glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin composites with Al₂O₃ as erodent. Taguchi method was applied to investigate the significance of processing parameters. Based on these studies, following conclusions are drawn:

Inclusion of AlN filler in the polymer composite increases the hardness, but decreases the tensile strength simultaneously. The erosive wear of AlN-filled glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) gives the lower value as it restricts fiber–matrix debonding. GFRP without any filler shows the highest erosion rate.

The influence of impingement angle on erosive wear of all composites exhibits semi-ductile erosive wear behavior with maximum wear rate at 60° impingement angle. This means that the erosion takes place by micro-plowing and micro-cutting.

The morphologies of eroded surfaces observed by FESEM suggest that, the overall erosion damage of composites consist of matrix material removal in the resin area and removal of broken fibers as well as that of breakage and material from the fiber–resin interface zones. However, AlN filler resists the formation of crack growth, which improves the resistance of erosive wear.

Factors like impact velocity, temperature, AlN percentage, and impingement angle in order of priority are found to be significant to minimize the erosion rate.

Footnotes

Funding

The authors thank Director, Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, for providing financial support.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Director, Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, for providing all facilities for research.

Conflict of interest

None declared.

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Test run	Erodent velocity (m/s)	Impingement angle (°)	Temperature (℃)	Filler content (%)
1	33	30	50	5
2	33	60	75	10
3	33	90	100	15
4	47	30	75	15
5	47	60	100	5
6	47	90	50	10
7	57	30	100	10
8	57	60	50	15
9	57	90	75	5

Test run	Erodent velocity (m/s)	Impingement angle (°)	Temperature (℃)	Filler content (%)
1	33	30	50	5
2	33	60	75	10
3	33	90	100	15
4	47	30	75	15
5	47	60	100	5
6	47	90	50	10
7	57	30	100	10
8	57	60	50	15
9	57	90	75	5

A study on erosive wear analysis of glass fiber–epoxy–AlN hybrid composites

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Experimental details

Preparation of AlN powder using thermal plasma

Composite fabrication

Taguchi experimental design

Erosion mechanism

Results and discussion

Micro-hardness and tensile strength

Steady-state erosion

Surface morphology

Taguchi analysis of the erosion test results

Conclusions

Footnotes

Funding

Acknowledgments

Conflict of interest

References

Test run	Erodent velocity (m/s)	Impingement angle (°)	Temperature (℃)	Filler content (%)
1	33	30	50	5
2	33	60	75	10
3	33	90	100	15
4	47	30	75	15
5	47	60	100	5
6	47	90	50	10
7	57	30	100	10
8	57	60	50	15
9	57	90	75	5