
Natural fibre composites are utilized across a range of engineering fields because of their appealing properties. The presence of wear elevates the likelihood of material failure, presenting a common challenge in both structural and automotive domains. In this context, a novel composite was fabricated by reinforcing a polyester resin with Roystonea regia and banana fibers to investigate its wear characteristics. The inclusion of banana fibres increased the composite's density, which is attributed to an increase in the hardness of the composites. The fabricated fibers were subjected to silane and alkali treatments, which improved their adhesion and moisture resistance. Reduced wear loss is observed for samples reinforced with 10 wt.% of Banana fiber and 5 wt.% of Roystonea regia fibers under all the tested conditions. Worn surfaces were studied using scanning electron microscopy, and they revealed delamination, ploughing, and wear debris along the sliding direction. As the load increased from 30 N to 50 N, debris and delamination also increased, particularly in silane-treated fibers compared to alkali-treated ones. Alkali-treated fibers exhibit better wear resistance than silane-treated ones, with abrasive wear being the primary mechanism. The regression equation was used for confirmation testing, and the Taguchi methodology for Design of Experiment was employed to ascertain the most effective operating parameters. Results indicate that the lowest specific wear rate occurs under conditions of 50 N loads, 3 m/s velocity, and 10% banana fibre.
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