Enhancing the tribological performance of epoxy composites utilizing carbon nano fibers additives for journal bearings

The research aims to develop new materials which could be a reasonable substitution to the metallic materials in the bearing systems. The tribological properties of epoxy composites containing 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 wt% contents of carbon nano-fibers (CNFs) have been investigated. The experimental results revealed that epoxy composites containing 0.4 wt% CNFs showed the minimum friction coefficient and reasonable wear resistance. This behavior was referred to the formation of CNFs enriched lubricating film. The lubricating film acts as a protective shield from the severe wear and provides a lower conjunction intermediate layer facilitating the slipping of the rubbing surfaces. Increasing the CNFs contents up to 0.8 wt% has an inverse effect on the friction coefficient despite the sharp increase in the wear resistance.