Ramie-glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites: Impact of walnut content on mechanical and sliding wear properties

The current research work is based on the effects of walnut content on mechanical and wear property of ramie-glass fiber epoxy composites. Four different variations of hybrid polymer composites were fabricated by varying walnut content range from 0 wt% to 9 wt%, while keeping ramie and glass fibre fixed (at 5 wt%). Results predict that the addition of walnut content successfully enhances the mechanical properties, and higher values (62.59 MPa for tensile strength and 55.52 MPa for flexural strength), was attained at 6 wt% and 9 wt% respectively. While the maximum hardness (45.43 HV) was achieved at 9 wt% walnut content. Furthermore, the sliding wear behaviour of composites was examined by using a pin-on-disc setup and Taguchi optimization technique. Design of experiment (L16) was generated by selecting different control factors (sliding velocity, normal load, and sliding distance) and revealed that the sliding velocity and walnut content were attaining more significant as compared to other factors.