Abstract: The FTM200 friction and wear tester was used and the PH13-8Mo stainless steel was taken as the friction couple and an orthogonal experiment was applied to studying the influences of normal load, fretting frequency, fretting amplitude and test time on the tribological property of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin matrix composites at -45 ℃, -20 ℃ and room temperature. The results showed that normal load, fretting frequency, fretting amplitude, test time and temperature affected the friction coefficient very significantly. Friction coefficients of the samples at -45 ℃ were higher than that at room temperature, for the matrix was friable under low temperature and the components were peeled off more easily in the wear process, resulting in increase of wear rate. The influence of normal load and temperature on the wear of composite was more obvious. Under the same temperature, the wear volume of composite increased with the increase of the load. Under the same load, the wear volume of composite at -45 ℃ was larger than that at room temperature, indicating that the fretting and the spalling fatigue occurred more easily. At room temperature, the surface scratching of the composite and some cracks were mainly characterized. The fretting wear mechanism of the carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin-based composites was abrasive wear and fatigue wear, while the wear mechanism of the material at low temperature mainly focused on fatigue wear.

Key words: carbon fiber composites; epoxy resin; low temperature; fretting wear; wear mechanism