Influence of micro and nanofillers on mechanical properties of pultruded unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite systems

Abstract

This paper reports, fabrication and characterization of unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite filled with nano-size alumina, silica and micron-size alumina trihydrate fillers using pultrusion technique. Tensile, flexural and impact strengths were determined to evaluate the effectiveness of fillers on the mechanical properties. Results show that the micro and nanofillers act as secondary reinforcement. The tensile, flexural and impact strengths of 10 wt% (combined alumina, silica and alumina trihydrate)-filled glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite improved by 9, 20 and 28%, respectively, as compared to the unfilled and alumina/silica-filled glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The enhanced performance of micro and nanofillers-filled glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites is due to better adhesion and good dispersion of particulates in the epoxy matrix providing increased surface area for strong interfacial interaction and better load transfer. The improved mechanical properties indicate that the unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy with combined micro-and nanofillers-filled composite is a good candidate for structural application.

The Influence of Micro- and Nano-Filler Content on the Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Composites

“…Prakash et al [15] investigated the influence of microand nano-fillers on the mechanical properties of pultruded unidirectional glass fibre-reinforced epoxy composite systems and concluded that the improved mechanical properties indicate that the unidirectional glass fibre-reinforced epoxy with combined microand nanofiller-filled composite is a good candidate for structural application. Manjunath et al [16] studied the effect of filler content on the performance of epoxy/PTW composites and concluded that PTW additions showed beneficiary effects on the density, hardness, and stiffness properties of composites; however, strength properties and ductility were found to decrease with the increasing content of PTW. Finally, Sudheer et al [17] gave a general review of epoxy composites and particularly on ceria epoxy nanocomposites.…”

Experimental study on the improvement of mechanical properties of GLARE using nanofillers

“…[ 12 ] In this regard, polymer‐based nanocomposites have been studied by many researchers. [ 13–17 ] In these studies, different types of nanofiller materials, wt% of nanofiller, and fabrication techniques were used. It was concluded that addition of nanofiller improves the mechanical properties of polymer based composites.…”

The Side‐Chain Liquid Crystalline Epoxy Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles for the Thermal and Mechanical Enhancement of Epoxy Nanocomposites

“…SLCEP acts as a soft fiber, increasing the energy consumption. Manjunath et.al . reported unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites filled with nano‐alumina, silica and micro‐alumina trihydrate.…”

“…In addition, the poor thermal conductivity of epoxy resin hinders its application in the field of electronic packaging . Various nanoparticles (such as nano‐alumina, nano‐silica, nano‐titanium dioxide, etc.) have been added into epoxy resin to improve the mechanical property, thermal conductivity, dielectric property and wear resistance by researchers.…”