Evolution of the Coefficient of Friction with Surface Wear for Advanced Surface Textured Composites

In this study, textured composite surface with protruding fibers is developed, which exhibits extremely high coefficient of friction on ice. A novel composite material with improved wear resistibility is aimed to determine with the target to maintain its slip-resistance properties over extended use. Particularly, two thermoplastic elastomers are compared, namely, thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) and Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS), reinforced with five types of fibers with varying stiffnesses and ductility, including alumina, basalt, glass, carbon, and poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole)) (PBO). The surface science of the composite is analyzed by using Fourier tranorm infrared spectroscopy to assess the intensity of existing interfacial bonding at fiber/matrix interface and scanning electron microscopy imaging for visual characterization. The results show that TPU composites have significantly higher abrasion resistance and slip resistance on ice as compared to SBS composites with the maximum abrasive resistance index (347.5 +/- 29.5, p < 0.0001) and coefficient of friction on ice (0.375 +/- 0.031, p < 0.0001) for PBO/TPU composite. Similarly, Fourier tranorm infrared spectroscopy spectrum demonstrates stronger existing bands in TPU compared to SBS composites indicative of better fiber wetting in TPU composites. The current PBO-TPU composite can be a potential candidate for various antislip applications as it has improved wear-resistance (22%) and slip-resistance (57%) properties, with respect to pure TPU.