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The main target of the current work was to study the mechanical properties of milled E-glass, S-glass, and high-strength (carbon fiber)-reinforced epoxy composites. At first, tensile behavior of the as-received fibers was evaluated by conducting different tensile tests. Afterwards, the effects of employing an integral blended coupling agent on the performance of the pure epoxy were investigated by microhardness tests and optical microscopic images. Then, the epoxy composites were prepared simply by mixing and stirring 1, 3, and 5 wt% of the milled fibers with the epoxy resin and its hardener. The effects of mixture degassing and addition of the coupling agent to the mixture were examined based on the mechanical properties of the fabricated composites. Also, scanning electron microscope macro-and micrographs of the transverse and longitudinal fracture surfaces were used to study the fracture behavior and identify the active toughening mechanisms. The best results were obtained for the degassed and modified milled (carbon fiber epoxy)-reinforced composite, which enhanced the tensile strength, elongation, Young's modulus, and toughness up to 12%, 17%, 19%, and 27%, respectively. The current study shows that the composite not only is cost effective but also offers better mechanical properties. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 24:130-138, 2018.

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In the current work, high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites were fabricated via Friction Stir Processing (FSP). A two-phase Fe-Fe3O4 powder was used as the reinforcing agents. The extremely low cost powder was obtained from shot-blasting of as-forged low carbon steel components. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to phase analysis and evaluation of the purity of the as-received powder. The size distribution of the powder was determined by Laser Particle Size Analysis (LPSA). Also, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was employed to investigate the particles morphology. The processing used a cylindrical tool to impose the severe plastic deformation and material stirring in order to improve the mechanical properties and particles distribution. The tribological and mechanical properties of the fabricated samples were examined. According to the results, both the friction coefficient and specific wear rate of FSPed samples reduced remarkably. The hardness and tensile strength of the FSPed composites were higher than the FSPed HDPE samples; however, their elongations were lower.