THREE-DIMENSIONAL SETUP OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS AS A WAY TO ACHIEVE HIGH MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Polymer resins are popular dry lubricants and protective coatings for metal products. However, their friction coefficient is high, which leads to increased wear rates and limited service life. Reinforcement with nanoscale fillers, due to their large surface area and their uniform distribution within the polymer matrix volume, can help reduce friction and wear. This paper aimed to study the effect of three-dimensional organization of silicon dioxide nanoparticles with a concentration of 1, 3, and 5% on the mechanical properties of an epoxy resin. The dispersion of nanoparticles was carried out using ultrasonic field technology. The friction coefficient was measured using a pendulum tribometer. Empirical results have shown that reduction in the concentration of nanoparticles from 5% to 1% resulted in a two-fold decrease in the values of the friction coefficient. Also, it was found that prolongation of test time in experiments with a nanoparticle concentration of 3 and 1% had practically no effect on the friction coefficient values. This behavior is associated with the polymer interface mobility regulation due to the low concentration of nano inclusions and uniform three-dimensional organization in the polymer matrix by the ultrasonic field, which contributed to a uniform redistribution of applied loads. The developed technique can be used to other types of polymer nanocomposites to study the effect of the three-dimensional organization of nanoscale fillers on wear resistance, bending strength, and impact resistance.