Tribological Characteristics of Carbon/Epoxy Composites With Respect to Surface Groove Dimensions

Grooves on the surface of carbon/epoxy composite bearings yield good tribological characteristics because wear debris generated on the sliding surface are removed efficiently through the grooves. However, the surface grooves increase normal and shear stresses in composite bearings, consequently, excessive area of the grooves increases wear of the carbon/epoxy composite bearings, which necessitates the optimum selection of groove dimensions on the surface of composite bearings. In this work, the friction and wear characteristics of carbon/epoxy composites with micro-grooves were investigated by dry sliding test with respect to groove width and ridge width. Through comparison between the flat surface and the grooved surface, proper widths of the groove and ridge of carbon/epoxy composite bearings were determined.