Tribological Investigations of Carbon Nanotube‐reinforced Polymer (UHMWPE) Nanocomposites Using Taguchi Methodology

ABSTRACTTaguchi design techniques have been applied to investigate the significant influence of various operating and design parameters, such as contact load, rotational sliding speed, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) concentration on the tribological properties of ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene nanocomposites. Analysis of variance was conducted to discuss the significance of each of the parameters. Simple regression models were developed for wear rate as well as for the coefficient of friction (COF) of the nanocomposite. Applied normal force was found to be the dominant factor controlling the wear rate and friction coefficient. The significance of CNTs concentration on both COF and wear rate closely follow that of applied load. Rotational sliding speed has the least influence on the tribological properties of the nanocomposite. The developed model for predicting wear rate and the COF was found to give very good predictions against the experimental data. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44018.