Experimental investigation of the effect of fiber orientation and sliding speed on wear properties of additively manufactured continuous GFRP composites

Additive Manufacturing(AM) is a new technology that gives new possibilities for the manufacturing of complex-shaped products. It enables designers to create a real product based on a CAD model. In AM, Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) is one of the widely used and promising extrusion-based techniques. FDM is widely used for the fabrication of polymer components. The mechanical properties of polymer components produced by the FDM technique are weak. To enhance the mechanical properties, 3D printing of polymer composites is done by reinforcement of particles, nanomaterials, and short and continuous fibers into thermoplastic polymers. In the present investigation, the wear properties of continuous glass fiber reinforced additively manufactured polymer composite under dry sliding conditions have been investigated. The effect of fiber orientation (0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°) and sliding speed (100 rpm, 150 rpm, 200 rpm) has been examined on the wear properties of AM polymer composite specimens. The composite 3D printer named Mark Two was used for the fabrication of specimens. The wear test of AM polymer composite specimens was conducted on pin-on-disk test equipment. The results show that the fiber orientation and sliding speed significantly affect the wear properties of specimens. The wear and coefficient of friction (COF) increase as the fiber orientation angle and sliding speed increase. Finally, morphological analysis is conducted using an optical micrograph of the worn-out surfaces to understand the failure type that has occurred for different fiber orientations.