Investigation of mechanical and tribological behaviour of expanded perlite particle reinforced polyphenylene sulphide

Abstract

In this study, polyphenylene sulphide was used as a matrix material due to its superior engineering properties. Expanded perlite is formed substantially from silica oxides, and it is a volcanic based and porous structure material. Its low price and low density make it very usable as a filler material. For this reason, expanded perlite reinforced polyphenylene sulphide matrix composites were prepared at various weight ratios (0, 1, 3, 5, and 10 wt%). Mechanical and tribological characterizations were done with tensile tests, hardness measurements, solid particle erosion, ball on disc, and scratch tests. According to the tensile test results, a synergistic effect was observed in mechanical properties by using perlite as a reinforcing agent. As expected, perlite reinforcement resulted in an increase in the modulus of 54% in composites. As well as tensile strength of the composite increased by approximately 13%. Furthermore, the perlite particle reinforcement improved the adhesion resistance by 73% and the scratch resistance by 30%. On the other hand, especially at low impact angles, perlite particle reinforcement decreased the erosive wear resistance of the pure polyphenylene sulphide polymer by 50%. Furthermore, expanded perlite reinforcement decreased the plastic deformation ability of polyphenylene sulphide. In consequence of this study, it has been found that expanded perlite particles can be used as an alternative filler instead of conventional reinforcing particles.