Effects of the Simultaneous Strengthening of the Glass Fiber Surface and Polyamide-6 Matrix by Plasma Treatment and Nanoclay Addition on the Mechanical Properties of Multiscale Hybrid Composites

Abstract

To strengthen the mechanical properties of a fiber-reinforced plastic without deteriorating its toughness caused by adding nanomaterial, multiscale hybrid composites (MHC) composed of polyamide 6 (PA6), woven glass fibers (WGFs), nanoclay, and various additives were fabricated and characterized. A surfactant was used to improve the dispersion of the nanoclay in the composite, and a compatibilizer and toughening agent were added to enhance the interfacial interactions between the nanoclay and PA6 and the toughness of the MHC, respectively. In addition, the WGFs were pretreated with atmospheric-pressure air plasma to enhance the interfacial bonding between the WGF and the mixture composed of PA6/nanoclay/compatibilizer/toughening agent, which constitutes the matrix. The optimal composition of the PA6 mixture, optimal content of the nanoclay, and optimal conditions of the plasma pretreatment of the WGF surface were experimentally determined. A suitable manufacturing process was employed using a material composition that maximizes the mechanical properties of the MHC by mitigating the toughness deterioration owing to nanoclay addition. An appropriate quantity of the nanoclay increased the tensile properties as well as the elongation at the break of the MHC because the toughening agent prevented the reduction in the degree of elongation caused by increasing the clay content to a certain extent. Moreover, the plasma treatment of the WGF enhanced the flexural properties and impact resistance of the MHC. Therefore, not only the tensile strength, modulus, and elongation at the break of the PA6 nanocomposite, which constitutes the matrix of the MHC, increased up to 39.83, 40.91, and 194.26%, respectively, but also the flexural strength and modulus, absorbed impact energy, and penetration limit of the MHC increased by 20.2, 26.8, 83.7, and 100.0%, respectively.

Development of Eco-Friendly Composites: Lamination Configuration and Addition of Waste Tire Rubber Particles on the Mechanical Performance of Polyester-Fiberglass Composite Plates

“…Stress-strain curve of the composites is shown in figure 7, the addition of fiberglass has a noticed effect on withstand of material [25], while the addition of rubber particles enhances the strain characteristics of the composite due to the natural behavior of the rubber. [26] Fig.…”

Significant enhancement of mechanical properties for glass fiber fabric‐reinforced polyamide 6 composites by improving interfacial bonding

“…These technologies include chemical modification methods such as coupling and grafting, [15][16][17][18][19] surface irradiation methods, [20][21][22][23][24] incorporation of nanomaterials, [25][26][27][28][29] and plasma treatment. [30][31][32][33][34][35] Lee 15 treated glass fiber fabric (GFF) with γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MPS) to fabricate GFF-reinforced unsaturated polyester composites. Through hydrolysis, the hydroxyl groups on the glass fiber surface reacted with the Si-O groups of γ-MPS, thereby reducing the surface energy of the glass fiber and improving the wettability of the unsaturated polyester resin.…”