In this paper, we aim to evaluate the tribological, mechanical, and morphological performance of resin-based friction composites reinforced by sisal fibers with different shapes, namely helical, undulated, and straight shapes. The experimental results show that the shape of the sisal fibers exerts a significant effect on the impact property of the composite materials but no obvious influence on the density and hardness. The friction composite containing the helical-shaped sisal fibers exhibits the best overall tribological behaviors, with a relatively low fade (9.26%), high recovery (98.65%), and good wear resistance (2.061 × 10-7 cm3∙N-1∙m-1) compared with the other two composites containing undulated-shaped fibers and straight-shaped fibers. The impact fracture surfaces and worn surfaces of the composite materials were inspected by scanning electron microscopy, and we demonstrate that adding helical-shaped sisal fibers into the polymer composites provides an enhanced fiber-matrix interface adhesion condition and reduces the extent of fiber debonding and pullout, effectively facilitating the presence of more secondary plateaus on the friction surface, which are responsible for the enhanced tribological and mechanical properties. The outcome of this study reveals that sisal fibers with a helical shape could be a promising candidate as a reinforcement material for resin-based brake friction composite applications.
Keywords: fiber shape; friction material; morphological characterization; natural fiber; tribological behavior.