Mechanical properties of composites filled with SMA particles and short fibers

Abstract

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) possess both sensing and actuating functions due to their shape memory effect, pseudo-elasticity, high damping capability and other remarkable properties. Combining the SMAs with other materials can create intelligent or smart composites by utilizing the unique properties of SMAs. In this paper, epoxy resin composites filled with NiTi alloy short fibers and particles were fabricated and their mechanical properties investigated. Owing to the addition of SMA fillers, the flexural rigidity of SMA/epoxy composites increases. Especially, the storage modulus increases remarkably with increasing filler content in the high temperature region. The experimental results show that the addition of just 3.5% of SMA fillers to epoxy resin resulted in a remarkable increment of storage modulus, which is six times as large as that of epoxy bulk (ER3). The storage modulus reaches the maximum at the SMA phase transformation temperature of approximate 120 o C. The loss factor of SMA/ER3 composites increases with the increment of SMA filler contents. Based on the Halpin-Tsai theory, moreover, a model for the laminated plates with SMA fillers is presented to predict the dynamic mechanical properties. Compared to the experimental results, reasonable prediction of the dynamic behavior is obtained based on the present models.

Predictions of Storage Modulus of Glass Bead-Filled Low-Density-Polyethylene Composites

“…In addition, dynamic mechanical measurements over a range of temperatures provide valuable insight into the structure, morphology and properties of polymeric blends and composites. A lot of dynamic mechanical analyses on polymeric blends and composites have been done [1][2][3][4]. Zhang et al [1] measured dynamic mechanical properties of composites filled with SMA particles and short fibers, and found that the storage modulus reaches the maximum at the SMA phase transformation temperature of approximate 120˚C.…”

“…A lot of dynamic mechanical analyses on polymeric blends and composites have been done [1][2][3][4]. Zhang et al [1] measured dynamic mechanical properties of composites filled with SMA particles and short fibers, and found that the storage modulus reaches the maximum at the SMA phase transformation temperature of approximate 120˚C. Karoui and Dufour [2] predicted the rheology parameters, such as storage modulus, loss modulus, strain, tanδ and complex viscosity, of ripened semi-hard cheeses using fluorescence spectra in the UV and visible ranges recorded at a young stage.…”

Polymer/Clay Nanocomposites

“…The efficiency of properties improvements depends strongly on the properties (mechanical) of the filler, the adhesion between matrix and filler and especially on the aspect ratio of the filler. The aspect ratio of the filler is very important and crucial for many properties in composite such as electrical (Al-Saleh & Sundararaj, 2010;Grossiord et al, 2008), mechanical (Zhang et al, 2007) and thermal (Meneghetti & Qutubuddin, 2006) properties. Polymer composites with the high aspect ratio of nano-fillers such as platelet clays, carbon nanotubes and nanofibers are receiving considerable attention due to their unique multifunctional and highly enhanced properties.…”

Comportamento termomecânico de compósitos ativos preparados com nanocompósitos epóxi/argila organofílica e fios de liga Ni-Ti com memória de forma

“…O efeito da adição de argila organofílica na temperatura T g de sistemas epoxídicos tem sido amplamente estudado por muitos pesquisadores. Alguns deles reportaram um aumento nos valores de T g [17,18] , enquanto outros observaram uma ligeira diminuição ou nenhuma alteração nos valores [14,19] . O aumento da T g tem sido atribuído ao retardamento do movimento molecular devido a interação das cadeias poliméricas com a alta área superficial da argila dispersa na matriz e a redução tem sido atribuída a fatores como efeito plastificante dos íons orgânicos empregados na organofilização da argila, ruptura da estrutura reticulada ou aprisionamento de monômeros residuais nas galerias da argila [18] .…”