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Abstract:
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Tear and wear properties of short kevlar fiber, thermoplastic polcurethane (TPU) composite with
respect to fiber loading-and fiber onentation has been studied and the fracture surfaces were examined
under scanning electron microscope (SEM). Tear strength first decreased up to 20 phr fiber loading
and then gradually increased with increasing fiber loading. Anisotropy in tear strength was evident
beyond a fiber loading of 20 phr. Tear fracture surface of unfilled TPU showed sinusoidal folding
characteristics of high strength matrix. At low fiber loading the tear failure was mainly due to fibermatrix failure whereas at higher fiber loading the failure occurred by fiber breakage. Abrasion loss
shows a continuous rise with increasing fiber loading, the loss in the transverse orientation of fibers
being higher than that in the longitudinal orientation. The abraded surface showed lone cracks and
ridges parallel to the direction of abrasion indicating an abrasive wear mechanism. In the presence of
fber the abrasion loss was mainly due to fiber low. |