Investigation of the effect of different silane coupling agents on mechanical performance of basalt fiber composite laminates with biobased epoxy matrices

Abstract

In recent years, it has been detected an increased interest in the development of materials from renewable resources. This trend has been intensified in the industrial sector where significant efforts have been made in this field in order to adapt these natural fibers to conventional industrial processes and applications. As a result, research has been done into developing new thermoplastic matrices which are compatible with this type of reinforcing fibers. This study evaluates the influence of different coupling agents based on silanes, on the mechanical properties of composite laminates made from a biobased epoxy resin matrix and basalt fabric by using vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding. The curing behavior of the biobased epoxy resin was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gel point determination, and ionic conductivity. The evaluation of mechanical properties was done by tensile, flexural, impact, and hardness tests. Compatibility between basalt fibers and epoxy resin generally has managed to increase through the addition of silanes, after the addition of these, their mechanical properties are substantially improved compared to the sample without silane treatment, obtaining this way an easily processable material, with good properties and capable of competing with materials with petroleum‐based epoxy resins. POLYM. COMPOS., 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers

Silane-Treated Basalt Fiber–Reinforced Poly(butylene succinate) Biocomposites: Interfacial Crystallization and Tensile Properties

“…Various efforts have been made to improve the fiber/matrix interfacial interaction, including functionalization of matrix, adding compatibilizer, and surface modification of the fibers [11][12][13]. These methods could improve interfacial adhesion, contributing to a certain extent to an efficient stress transferring from the matrix to fibers.…”

“…Compared with the functionalization of the matrix or using a compatibilizer [11], surface modification of fibers is the most common and simplest method to obtain interfacial interaction. Silane treatment [12,13] is an effective, commercially available, and low cost method for surface modification of fibers without destroy the structure of the fibers themselves or weaken fiber strength.…”

Manufacturing and compatibilization of PLA/PBAT binary blends by cottonseed oil-based derivatives

“…With the aim of obtaining high environmentally friendly PLA formulations, the use of vegetable-oil (VO)-derived additives is increasing as vegetable oils can be chemically modified to tailor some particular functionalities which can react with PLA and other biopolyesters. Currently, epoxidized vegetable oils (EVOs) are widely used in the new generation of environmentally friendly plasticized PVC formulations [32,33] and thermosetting resins [34]. Their use in the packaging industry is attracting due to low migration rates towards the food [35].…”

Improved mechanical properties of epoxy-based composites with hyperbranched polymer grafting glass-fiber

“…[52] Furthermore, the grown of HBPH on the surface of glass-fiber improves the dispersion of glass-fiber in epoxy resin and enhances the compatibility between epoxy matrix and glass-fiber. [19,53] The results of flexural tests show that the flexural strength of epoxy/GF-APS composites increases slightly with increment of the GF-APS content, reducing the increasing trend. The influence of GF-HBPH on tensile strength and flexural strength can be explained as follows.…”