Metallic friction materials currently used in industry may adversely impact the environment. Substitutions for metals in friction materials, on the other hand, can introduce operational safety issues and other unforeseeable problems such as thermal-mechanical instabilities. In this work, a molecular dynamics model has been developed for investigating the effects of material composition, density, and surface asperities on the tribological properties of inorganic 3C-SiC under various contact conditions at the atomic level. Predictions on the following results have been made: (1) elastic modulus, (2) tensile strength, (3) thermal conductivity, and (4) friction coefficient. The research findings can help improve the design of metal-free friction materials against thermal-mechanical failures. Parametric studies were performed by varying a number of conditions including (1) ambient temperature, (2) sliding speed, (3) crystal orientation, (4) asperity size, (5) degree of asperity intersection, (6) types of loading, and (7) surface contact. Plastic deformation and material transfer were successfully modeled between two sliding pairs. Some of the computational results were validated against existing experimental data found in the literature. The evaluation of wear rate was also incorporated. The model can easily be extended to deal with other nonmetallic friction composites.
more »
« less
This content will become publicly available on December 4, 2024
A molecular dynamics study of 3C‐SiC /epoxy nanocomposite as a metal‐free friction material
The tribological, mechanical, and thermal properties of an epoxy crosslinking network incorporated with 3C‐SiC nanoparticles, serving as a metal‐free friction material were investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The considered models encompass pure epoxy materials with 35%, 50%, 65%, and 80% crosslinking degrees, as well as 3C‐SiC/epoxy composite materials at the same crosslinking levels. Glass transition temperature (
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10477997
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Applied Polymer Science
- Volume:
- 141
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 0021-8995
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract High thermal conductivity electronic materials are critical components for high-performance electronic and photonic devices as both active functional materials and thermal management materials. We report an isotropic high thermal conductivity exceeding 500 W m −1 K −1 at room temperature in high-quality wafer-scale cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) crystals, which is the second highest among large crystals (only surpassed by diamond). Furthermore, the corresponding 3C-SiC thin films are found to have record-high in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivity, even higher than diamond thin films with equivalent thicknesses. Our results resolve a long-standing puzzle that the literature values of thermal conductivity for 3C-SiC are lower than the structurally more complex 6H-SiC. We show that the observed high thermal conductivity in this work arises from the high purity and high crystal quality of 3C-SiC crystals which avoids the exceptionally strong defect-phonon scatterings. Moreover, 3C-SiC is a SiC polytype which can be epitaxially grown on Si. We show that the measured 3C-SiC-Si thermal boundary conductance is among the highest for semiconductor interfaces. These findings provide insights for fundamental phonon transport mechanisms, and suggest that 3C-SiC is an excellent wide-bandgap semiconductor for applications of next-generation power electronics as both active components and substrates.more » « less
-
more » « less
Abstract The thermal properties of epoxy‐based binary composites comprised of graphene and copper nanoparticles are reported. It is found that the “synergistic” filler effect, revealed as a strong enhancement of the thermal conductivity of composites with the size‐dissimilar fillers, has a well‐defined filler loading threshold. The thermal conductivity of composites with a moderate graphene concentration of
fg = 15 wt% exhibits an abrupt increase as the loading of copper nanoparticles approachesf Cu≈ 40 wt%, followed by saturation. The effect is attributed to intercalation of spherical copper nanoparticles between the large graphene flakes, resulting in formation of the highly thermally conductive percolation network. In contrast, in composites with a high graphene concentration,fg = 40 wt%, the thermal conductivity increases linearly with addition of copper nanoparticles. A thermal conductivity of 13.5 ± 1.6 Wm−1K−1is achieved in composites with binary fillers offg = 40 wt% andf Cu= 35 wt%. It has also been demonstrated that the thermal percolation can occur prior to electrical percolation even in composites with electrically conductive fillers. The obtained results shed light on the interaction between graphene fillers and copper nanoparticles in the composites and demonstrate potential of such hybrid epoxy composites for practical applications in thermal interface materials and adhesives. -
more » « less
Abstract In order to better understand the design rules of epoxy–phenol thermosets we will report on the chemistry and (thermo)mechanical properties of cured epoxy–phenol thermoset films.
Ortho‐ ,meta‐ andpara‐ isomers of dihydroxybenzene (DHB) were reacted with the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) in the presence of an acid catalyst or triphenylphosphine (PPh3). The glass transition temperatures (T g) of the cross‐linked films decreases in the order ofmeta ‐ (T g = 115°C) >ortho‐ (T g = 102°C) >para‐ DHB (T g = 96°C) as measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Uniaxial tensile testing of cross‐linked films showed excellent stress–strain behavior. The average ultimate strength values ranged from 65 to 82 MPa and the average values of the strain‐at‐break ranged from 4.8% to 6.9% at 25°C for all cross‐linked films. When a PPh3was used, the network properties were profoundly different. The base catalyzed thermoset of DGEBA andmeta ‐DHB shows aT gof 85°C, which is 30°C lower than theT gof the acid‐catalyzed analog. Tensile films appear to be more ductile, as they exhibit a strain‐at‐break of 20%. The results of this study confirm that simple dihydroxybenzene hardeners can be used to prepare cross‐linked films with excellent thermomechanical properties. -
null (Ed.)Abstract 3D printing in the textile and fashion industry is a new emerging technology. Applications of 3D printing for designing clothes and other wearable accessories require tribological and biological understanding of 3D printing plastics against the complex human skin to mitigate skin-friction related ailments such as calluses and blisters. This study provides tribological insight in search of an optimal 3D printable material that has minimal friction against the skin. Two low friction 3D printable materials, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and polyamide (TPA) were chosen and tribological testing was carried out against a water responsive skin model. The skin model was synthesized using a gelatine based model made with cotton and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde. Tribological testing of TPU/TPA against the skin model in dry and wet conditions were made. The higher coefficient of friction (COF) was observed in the wet condition compared to the dry condition. To overcome the higher friction, TPA/TPU-sodium polyacrylate composites were prepared by heat pressing that significantly reduced COF of TPU and TPA by ∼ 40% and 75%, respectively, in wet conditions.more » « less
