Enhanced Solid Particle Erosion Properties of Thermoplastic Polyurethane-Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites

A co-coagulation method combined with hot pressing technique is successfully applied to fabricate thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanocomposites with different contents of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Obviously, the mechanical and thermal properties of the nanocomposites are improved with increasing the CNT content. In addition, the existence of hydrogen bonding between CNTs and polymer matrix is demonstrated. Furthermore, the influences of impact parameters on solid particle erosion behavior are investigated systematically. The surface roughness and line roughness are also investigated to illustrate the mechanism of solid particle erosion. As elastic nanocomposites, the maximum and minimum erosion rate (ER) occur at 30 degrees and 90 degrees. The ER is relatively small when the impact velocity is at 10 m s(-1), then is increased rapidly between 20 and 30 m s(-1). As the size of impact particles increases to 300 mu m, a rapid increase of ER occurs between 10 and 20 m s(-1). All these results indicate CNTs improve the erosion resistance of TPU matrix.