Solid Particle Erosion of Filled and Unfilled Epoxy Resin at Room and Elevated Temperatures

Solid particle erosion at room and elevated temperatures of filled and unfilled hot-cured epoxy resin using an anhydride hardener were experimentally tested using an accelerated method on a special bench. Micro-sized dispersed industrial wastes were used as fillers: fly ash from a power plant and spent filling material from a copper mining and processing plant. The results showed that the wear of unfilled epoxy resin significantly decreases with increasing temperature, while the dependence on the temperature of the wear intensity at an impingement angle of 45° is linear and inversely proportional, and at an angle of 90°, non-linear. The decrease in wear intensity is probably due to an increase in the fracture limit because of heating. Solid particle erosion of the filled epoxy compounds is considerably higher than that of unfilled compounds at impingement angles of 45° and 90°. Filled compounds showed ambiguous dependences of the intensity of wear on temperature (especially at an impingement angle of 45°), probably as the dependence is defined by the filler share and the structural features of the samples caused by the distribution of filler particles. The intensity of the wear of the compounds at impingement angles of 45° and 90° has a direct and strong correlation with the density and the modulus of elasticity, and a weak correlation with the bending strength of the materials. The data set for determining the correlation between the mechanical properties and the wear included compound filling characteristics and temperature.