This work presents the behavior of a polymer matrix reinforced with h-Boron Nitride (h-BN in powder form) at Nano level reinforcements, to study the strength and thermal stability aspects for high-temperature applications. Composite specimens were prepared by adding varying amount (0.1 to 0.5 wt. percentages) of reinforcements (h-BN) in the base polymer matrix (epoxy). Dispersion of h-BN was carried out using ultrasonic energy. Prepared epoxy beams were tested under tensile load and flexureto evaluate their mechanical properties such as tensile strength and load-deflection conditions. Composite material was tested using Thermo Gravimetric Analysis to study their degradation with increasing temperature. These results were compared with the plain epoxy polymer specimens. This work further investigates the ideal percentage of h-BN that gives the best results in terms of both enhanced properties and economic viability. Scanning electron microscopic testing was conducted to examine the interfacial surface adhesion between the h-BNs and the polymer matrix. Polymer composite with h-BNs 0.4% by weight showed enhanced results in strength by 49.25% when compared with plain epoxy beams due to uniform filler dispersion. It was found that addition of h-BN Nanoparticles, the material loss in the elevated temperatures has been reduced.

Polymer-based nanocomposites are being considered as replacements for conventional materials in medium to high-temperature applications. This article aims to discover the synergistic effects of reinforcements on the developed polymer-based nanocomposite. An epoxy-based polymer composite was manufactured by reinforcing graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) and h-boron nitride (h-BN) nanofillers. The composites were prepared by varying the reinforcements with the step of 0.1 from 0.1 to 0.6%. Ultrasonication was carried out to ensure the homogenous dispersion of reinforcements. Mechanical, thermal, functional, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was carried out on the novel manufactured composites. The evaluation revealed that the polymer composite with GNP 0.2 by wt % has shown an increase in load-bearing capacity by 265% and flexural strength by 165% compared with the pristine form, and the polymer composite with GNP and h-BN 0.6 by wt % showed an increase in load-bearing capacity by 219% and flexural strength by 114% when compared with the pristine form. Furthermore, the evaluation showed that the novel prepared nanocomposite reinforced with GNP and h-BN withstands a higher temperature, around 340 °C, which is validated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) trials. The numerical simulation model is implemented to gather the synthesised nanocomposite’s best composition and mechanical properties. The minor error between the simulation and experimental data endorses the model’s validity. To demonstrate the industrial applicability of the presented material, a case study is proposed to predict the temperature range for compressor blades of gas turbine engines containing nanocomposite material as the substrate and graphene/h-BN as reinforcement particles.