Effect of Fibre Orientation on the Scratch Characteristics of E-Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polyester Composite

Low      K. Ong; Quek      K. Kien; Wong      K. Jye

Abstract

Recent patents on newly developed composites show that the application of fibres can be used to enhance the structural integrity of polymers. In this work, the scratch behaviour of E-glass fibre-reinforced polyester composites is investigated. The composites are prepared for different fibre orientations, longitudinal, transverse and random. The scratch force is lower for polyester composites with longitudinal orientated fibres compared to transversely aligned orientation. The introduction of glass fibres increases the scratch hardness of polyester.

Keywords: E-glass fibre, scratch force, scratch hardness, polyester resin, composite, pressurized gaseous medium, abrasive wear mechanism, fibres, reinforcing agents, micrometer-sized wollastonite, drylaid glass fibres, organic fibres, anisotropy, ambient temperature cure, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl ethyl, conical tungsten carbide indenter, scratch test, tangential scratch force, resistive force, pulling off mechanism, interfacial friction, coefficient of friction, interfacial, lesser ploughing action, thermal softening effects, Scratch Deformation, microscopy images, brittle cutting process, glass fibre-rein-forced polyesters, frictional energy