Journal Article

Tribological and acoustic performance of Luffa acutangula fiber and sal wood sawdust reinforced epoxy composites: An experimental study

Haldar, Barun, Palanisamy, Sivasubramanian, Kumar, Durairaj Thresh, Alrasheedi, Nashmi H., Arunprasad, Veeranan

2025

Overview

Hybrid epoxy composites reinforced with Luffa acutangula fiber (LAF) and Sal wood sawdust (SWD) were examined for their tribological and acoustic properties. A consistent 20 wt% LAF was employed throughout all composites, with the SWD content adjusted to 0%, 5%, 15%, and 25%. The engineered composites underwent assessment for wear loss, coefficient of friction (CoF), sound absorption coefficient, and noise reduction coefficient. The results demonstrated a notable reduction in wear loss with the addition of SWD up to 15 wt%, with the 20FL/15SWD sample exhibiting the lowest wear at 0.32%. In a similar manner, the CoF decreased to 0.26 for the identical composition, indicating an ideal equilibrium between filler dispersion and fiber-matrix interaction. The enhancement of sound absorption and noise reduction coefficients was observed with increased SWD content, reaching peaks of 0.23 and 0.13, respectively for the 20FL/15SWD composite. The enhancements observed can be linked to the superior void-filling capacity and interfacial bonding facilitated by the SWD particles. Nonetheless, a high concentration of SWD (25 wt%) led to a minor decrease in performance attributed to particle agglomeration. The findings indicate that the 20FL/15SWD composite demonstrates enhanced tribo-acoustic performance, positioning it as a strong contender for applications requiring noise insulation and wear resistance.

• Publisher: North Carolina State University
• Subject: acoustic performance / epoxy composites / friction loss / luffa acutangula / salwood saw dust / tribological properties