Mechanical and Tribological Performance of Aramid Fiber-Reinforced Photopolymer Composites Fabricated via Stereolithography for Sustainable Bearing Applications

Abstract

This study examines the mechanical and tribological behavior of aramid fiber reinforced polymer (AFRP) composites made through Stereolithography (SLA) additive manufacturing intended for sustainable bearing applications. The polymer matrix used was SLA photo curable resin which was reinforced with aramid fibers at weight fractions of 0.25 wt% and 0.50 wt%. Tensile testing was done as per ASTM D638 and Shore D hardness was evaluated following ASTM D2240. Pin on disc tribological testing was carried out according to ASTM G99 against an EN31 hardened steel counterface under dry sliding conditions. Results show that adding aramid fibers progressively improves tensile strength and surface hardness over the unreinforced SLA resin baseline. Among the tested compositions the 0.50 wt% composite recorded the highest tensile strength and hardness values. The same composition also showed a substantially reduced coefficient of friction and wear loss across different loads and speeds. Frictional heat generation was also found to decrease in the composites which supports the possibility of reduced lubrication requirements in practical bearing applications.