Experimental Investigation of Tribological Properties of Epoxy and Rubber Based Composites for Low Speed Gear Applications

Abstract

Today, the ability to produce a product in less time and at an optimal cost remains a critical factor in this turbulence business environment. This brings in new opportunities and challenges to the researchers. newlineIn the present scenario, it has been found that the use of composites in engineering applications has proven to be more beneficial and economical. In practice, a wide variety of composites are available. In that sense, polymers are also a class of composites with specific functional requirements compared to metals. Furthermore, it is easy to manufacture products from polymers, and are also economical to use compared to metals in some applications. However, before using any type of polymer in applications, it is critical to understand what polymers are, how they are manufactured, the difficulties encountered with polymers, and their various properties. Hence, an attempt is made to cast the polymer by using epoxy (Araldite LY556) and natural rubber (Deprotenised Natural Rubber) to test its mechanical properties, by extracting initial information using software like ChemSketch and J-Octa in the initial stages. newlineChemsketch and J-Octa are advanced software tools that can be used to build the chemical chain to obtain the properties of materials. The J-Octa software uses the molecular dynamics method to calculate the properties. In J-Octa, various combination ratios of Deprotenised natural rubber with Araldite LY556 and are built and tested virtually. For example, (molecular weight X) (different material combinations (95% + 5%)) total amorphous structure is solved using different UGNAC post-processing methods to obtain mechanical properties. newlineDifferent combinations of DNR (5, 10, 15, and 20 percent) are added to the Araldite LY556 epoxy resin along with solvent, and the samples are prepared by the cold hand moulding technique. These material combinations are cast in accordance with ASTM standards in order to perform mechanical tests such as the tensile test, Izod, Charpy, 3-point bending, wear, and hardness test us