Prediction of Tribological Properties of UHMWPE/SiC Polymer Composites Using Machine Learning Techniques

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Authors
Mohammed, Abdul Jawad
Mohammed, Anwaruddin Siddiqui
Mohammed, Abdul Samad
Advisors
Issue Date
2023-10
Type
Article
Keywords
Machine learning , UHMWPE , Silicon carbide , Friction , Wear rate , Triboinformatics
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Mohammed, A. J., Mohammed, A. S., & Mohammed, A. S. (2023). Prediction of Tribological Properties of UHMWPE/SiC Polymer Composites Using Machine Learning Techniques. Polymers, 15(20), 4057. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym15204057
Abstract

Polymer composites are a class of material that are gaining a lot of attention in demanding tribological applications due to the ability of manipulating their performance by changing various factors, such as processing parameters, types of fillers, and operational parameters. Hence, a number of samples under different conditions need to be repeatedly produced and tested in order to satisfy the requirements of an application. However, with the advent of a new field of triboinformatics, which is a scientific discipline involving computer technology to collect, store, analyze, and evaluate tribological properties, we presently have access to a variety of high-end tools, such as various machine learning (ML) techniques, which can significantly aid in efficiently gauging the polymer's characteristics without the need to invest time and money in a physical experimentation. The development of an accurate model specifically for predicting the properties of the composite would not only cheapen the process of product testing, but also bolster the production rates of a very strong polymer combination. Hence, in the current study, the performance of five different machine learning (ML) techniques is evaluated for accurately predicting the tribological properties of ultrahigh molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) polymer composites reinforced with silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles. Three input parameters, namely, the applied pressure, holding time, and the concentration of SiCs, are considered with the specific wear rate (SWR) and coefficient of friction (COF) as the two output parameters. The five techniques used are support vector machines (SVMs), decision trees (DTs), random forests (RFs), k-nearest neighbors (KNNs), and artificial neural networks (ANNs). Three evaluation statistical metrics, namely, the coefficient of determination (R-value), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean square error (RMSE), are used to evaluate and compare the performances of the different ML techniques. Based upon the experimental dataset, the SVM technique was observed to yield the lowest error rates--with the RMSE being 2.09 x 10 and MAE being 2 x 10 for COF and for SWR, an RMSE of 2 x 10 and MAE of 1.6 x 10 were obtained--and highest R-values of 0.9999 for COF and 0.9998 for SWR. The observed performance metrics shows the SVM as the most reliable technique in predicting the tribological properties--with an accuracy of 99.99% for COF and 99.98% for SWR--of the polymer composites.

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Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Journal
Book Title
Series
Polymers
v. 15 no. 20, art. no. 4057
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
2073-4360
EISSN