Mechanical and impact performance of three-phase polyamide 6 nanocomposites AbstractIn this work, three-phase nanocomposites using multiscale reinforcements were studied to evaluate the influence of nanofillers on static and dynamic mechanical properties at varying temperature conditions. In particular, short-fibres reinforced polyamide 6 (30 wt.%) composites with various weight fractions of montmorillonite (OMMT) and nanosilica (SiO 2 ), manufactured and investigated. Quasi-static tensile properties were investigated at room temperature and also at 65 o C just above the polyamide 6 (PA6) glass transition temperature.The low velocity impact tests were conducted on the manufactured cone-shaped structures to evaluate the crash behaviour and energy absorption capability. The study results shows that the increase of the weight percentage level of OMMT in PA6/glass fibre (30 wt.%) composite made the nanocomposites more brittle and simultaneously deteriorated the tensile properties.SiO 2 nanofiller at 1 wt.% was found to be the optimum ratio for improving tensile properties in silica-based nanocomposites studied. It was further noted that for both types of nanofillers, the crashing behaviour and energy absorption in dynamic properties were improved with increase in nanofillers weight percentage in the composites. The study also shows that the brittleness behaviour of the nanocomposites investigated is associated to the fibre/matrix interaction which is dependent on the nanofiller type and has significant effect on crash modes observed.

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This work focuses on the release of nanoparticles from commercially used nanocomposites during machining operations. A reliable and repeatable method was developed to assess the intentionally exposure to nanoparticles, in particular during drilling. This article presents the description and validation of results obtained from a new prototype used for the measurement and monitoring of nanoparticles in a controlled environment. This methodology was compared with the methodologies applied in other studies. Also, some preliminary experiments on drilling nanocomposites are included. Size, shape and chemical composition of the released nanoparticles were investigated in order to understand their hazard potential. No significant differences were found in the amount of nanoparticles released between samples with and without nanoadditives. Also, no chemical alteration was observed between the dust generated and the bulk material. Finally, further developments of the prototype are proposed.