Processing,characterization, and erosion wear characteristics of borosilicate glass microspheres filled epoxy composites

In spite of significant research done in the field of particulate filled polymeric composites, reports on polymers filled with glass microspheres have been extremely rare. In view of this, the present work includes the processing, characterization, and erosion wear response of a new class of epoxy composites filled with different proportions of borosilicate glass microspheres. Hand lay‐up technique is used for making these composites in a laboratory scale. Various physical and mechanical properties are evaluated under controlled laboratory conditions. It is found that while the tensile and flexural strength are marginally influenced, the impact strength is improved quite significantly. Besides, multifold enhancement in composite microhardness is also noticed. Erosion trials are made as per the experimental design based on Taguchi's L₁₆ orthogonal array. Parametric appraisal of erosion process is made and influential parameters affecting the wear rate predominantly are identified. The results indicate that erosion wear rate of these composites is influenced more significantly by impact velocity and filler content respectively compared to others factors. The eroded composite samples are studied using scanning electron microscopy and possible wear mechanisms are discussed. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:1685–1692, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

不同材料填充超高摩尔质量聚乙烯复合材料的力学性能分析

对纳米Al2O3、玻纤粉、石墨、微珠粉等材料填充的UHMWPE复合材料进行了拉伸、强度和磨损性能试验。结果表明：不同填料对UHMWPE性能的影响不一样，几种填料填充UHMWPE后，其硬度及耐磨性有不同的改善，而拉伸强度和断裂伸长率有不同程度的下降；其中以质量分数为10％的纳米Al2O3填充UHMWPE综合性能最佳；石墨填充材料的加入会使UHMWPE拉伸强度和断裂伸长率下降较大，脆性增大，但可较好地改善UHMWPE的耐磨性。     

Comparison of the Mechanical and Thermo-Mechanical Properties of Unfilled and SiC Filled Short Glass Polyester Composites

This paper presents a comparison between particulate filled (SiC particles) and unfilled glass polyester composites on the basis of their mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties. The results show that particulate filled composites have a decreasing trend in mechanical properties when compared to the unfilled glass polyester composites. In particulate filled composites, the tensile and flexural strength of the composites decrease with the addition of 10 wt.-% SiC particles but increase with 20 wt.-% SiC particles. In the case of the unfilled glass polyester composite, the tensile and flexural strength of the composites increase with an increase in the fiber loading. However, higher values of tensile strength and flexural strength of particulate filled glass polyester were found than that of the unfilled glass polyester composite. In the case of thermo-mechanical and thermal properties, the particulate filled composites show better dynamical and thermal properties when compared to the unfilled glass polyester composites. The mechanical and thermal properties (i.e. thermal conductivity) are also calculated using FE modeling (ANSYS software) and the results from this simulation shows good agreement with the experimental results.     

A comparative analysis of woven jute/glass hybrid polymer composite with and without reinforcing of fly ash particles

The objective of this research article is to compare the mechanical and tribological properties of jute‐glass‐fiber‐reinforced epoxy (J‐G‐E) hybrid composites with and without fly ash particulate filler. A dry hand lay‐up technique is used to fabricate all the laminates. The properties including flexural strength, tensile strength, flexural modulus, and erosion behavior of all the composites are evaluated as per American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The fly ash particulate‐filled hybrid composite shows a better mechanical and tribological property. The maximum flexural strength and flexural modulus are obtained for GJGJ+ 5 wt% fly ash filler epoxy composites. Whereas the maximum tensile strength is obtained for GJJG+ 10 wt% fly ash filler epoxy composites. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis also has been carried out to categorize mechanical and tribological behavior of composites. POLYM. COMPOS. 37:658–665, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Thermo-Mechanical Properties and Abrasive Wear Behavior of Silicon Carbide Filled Woven Glass Fiber Composites

A study was done to determine the effect of physical, mechanical, thermal and three body abrasive wear response of Silicon Carbide (SiC) filled Glass Fiber Reinforced Epoxy (GFRE) composites. The main purpose was to study the influence of different weight percentages (wt.%) of SiC filler in addition to that of glass fiber. A three body abrasive wear analysis was conducted by varying different factors such as fiber/filler reinforcement, abrasive particle size, normal load, sliding distance and sliding velocity. An attempt was made to find out the dominant factor and the effect of each factor on specific wear rate analysis. Physical and mechanical properties, i.e. density, hardness, tensile strength, flexural strength, inter laminar shear strength and impact strength, were determined for each weight percent of filler reinforcement to determine the behavior of mechanical properties with varying SiC filler loading. Thermo – mechanical properties of the material, i.e. storage modulus, loss modulus and tan delta with temperature were measured using a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA). The result shows the increasing / decreasing trend and critical points of each analysis. The trend and major factors responsible for reducing the specific wear rate were determined. Mechanical properties, i.e. hardness and impact strength, increase with the increase in SiC content, whereas tensile strength, flexural strength and inter laminar shear strength decrease. Worn surfaces were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to give an insight into the wear mechanisms.     

Evaluation of Mechanical and Erosive wear Characteristics of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and ZnO Filled Bi-Directional E-glass Fiber Based Vinyl Ester Composites

This article presents the evaluation of mechanical and erosive wear characteristics of bi-directional E-glass fiber based vinyl ester composites filled with TiO₂ (titanium oxide) and ZnO (zinc oxide) of 10 wt.% and 20 wt.% respectively. The mechanical characterization of these composites is performed. The erosion rates of these composites have been evaluated at different impingement angles (30 ^°, 60 ^° and 90 ^°). The particles used for the erosion measurements were silica sand with the diameters of 300, 425 and 600 μm and impact velocities of 30, 50 and 70 m/s were used. A plan of experiments, based on the Taguchi design, was performed to acquire data in a controlled way. An orthogonal array L₂₇ (3 ¹³) and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) have been applied to investigate the influence of process parameters on the erosive wear behaviour of these composites. The tensile strength of composite specimens is found to decrease with filler loading while hardness, flexural strength, inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS) and impact strength increase. TiO₂ filled composites were observed to perform better than ZnO filled composites under erosive wear situations. The dominant wear mechanism is studied on the basis of micrographs of the worn-out surface of composite materials. Performance optimization of composites is done by using the VIKOR method.     

Tribological and Microstructure Behavior of Quicklime (CaO) Filled Silicon Bronze Alloy for Bearing Material

CaO filled silicon bronze (SiBr) alloy composites have been fabricated by a high temperature vacuum casting technique at five different weight percentages (0 wt%, 2.5 wt%, 5 wt%, 7.5 wt% and 10 wt% of CaO). The void contents, hardness and wear behavior of the CaO filled SiBr alloy composites were studied showing that the addition of particulates in base alloy reduces the void contents from 0.827 % to 0.504 % for 0 wt% to 7.5 wt% of CaO respectively. Similarly, the hardness of CaO filled SiBr alloy composites initially increases from 119.25 Hv to 140.8 Hv on addition of 7.5 % CaO but on further increase in filler content (10 wt%) the hardness decreases to 114.5 HV respectively. The specific wear rate of composite materials for applied load and sliding velocity factors showed surpassing behavior compared to unfilled alloy composites. To get the optimum response of wear behavior of composite materials the Taguchi L₂₅ orthogonal array was applied and the result shows the higher S/N ratio i.e. 106.33 dB. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) result shows that the filler content plays a major effect compared to other factors. The particulate filled composites were examined through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) in order to understand the wear mechanism and morphology behavior of the composites.     

Role of fillers on three‐body abrasive wear behavior of glass fabric reinforced epoxy composites

The article summarizes an experimental study on the abrasive wear behavior of particulate filled glass‐epoxy (G‐E) composites. The two fillers investigated were graphite and alumina. The wear behavior was assessed by rubber wheel abrasion tests. The tests were carried out for 270, 540, 810, and 1080 m abrading distances at 22 and 32 N loads. The worn surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed varied responses under different abrading distance because of the addition of fillers in G‐E composites. Graphite filler, however, performed poorly resulting in significant deterioration in wear performance while the alumina filled G‐E composite showed improved abrasion resistance. Selected mechanical properties such as hardness, tensile strength, and elongation at fracture were analyzed for investigating wear property correlations. The SEM studies indicate the reasons for failure of composites and influencing parameters. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Mechanical properties of nickel-powder–filled polypropylene composites

Mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural properties as well as impact behavior of nickel-powder–filled isotactic polypropylene composites were investigated in the composite composition range 0–3.5 volume % Ni. Tensile modulus, strength, and elongation-at-break decreased with increase in Ni content, which is attributed to the introduction of discontinuity in the structure. Analysis of tensile strength data indicated the introduction of stress concentration consequent upon addition of Ni into polypropylene. Izod impact strength at first increased up to a critical Ni content beyond which the value decreased inappreciably while flexural modulus and strength increased with filler concentration.     

Hybrid composites from coir fibers reinforced with woven glass fabrics: Physical and mechanical evaluation

Sandwich composites based on coir fiber nonwoven mats as core material were manufactured by Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding technique. Mechanical and physical properties of produced coir/polyester and coir‐glass/polyester composites were assessed. Samples were evaluated according to their reinforcement contents, resin contents, areal density, and thickness. Tests on physical properties revealed that coir‐glass/polyester sandwich structure has the lowest values of thickness swelling, water absorption and moisture contents compared with coir/polyester composite. Mechanical tests such as tensile strength, open‐hole tensile strength, and flexural strength were also performed on all samples. Coir‐glass/polyester sandwich structure showed significant increase in tensile strength of 70 MPa compared with 8 MPa of coir/polyester composite. Introducing two skins of fiber glass woven roving to coir/polyester increased its flexural strength from 31.8 to 131.8 MPa for coir‐glass/polyester. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:2212–2220, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Mechanical and tribological properties of glass–epoxy composites with and without graphite particulate filler

The objectives of this research article is to evaluate the mechanical and tribological properties of glass‐fiber‐reinforced epoxy (G–E) composites with and without graphite particulate filler. The laminates were fabricated by a dry hand layup technique. The mechanical properties, including tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break, and surface hardness, were investigated in accordance with ASTM standards. From the experimental investigation, we found that the tensile strength and dimensional stability of the G–E composite increased with increasing graphite content. The effect of filler content (0–7.5 wt %) and sliding distance on the friction and wear behavior of the graphite‐filled G–E composite systems were studied. Also, conventional weighing, determination of the coefficient of friction, and examination of the worn surface morphological features by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were done. A marginal increase in the coefficient of friction with sliding distance for the unfilled composites was noticed, but a slight reduction was noticed for the graphite‐filled composites. The 7.5% graphite‐filled G–E composite showed a lower friction coefficient for the sliding distances used. The wear loss of the composites decreased with increasing weight fraction of graphite filler and increased with increasing sliding distance. Failure mechanisms of the worn surfaces of the filled composites were established with SEM. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2472–2480, 2007     

The effect of alkali treatment and filler size on the properties of sawdust/UPR composites based on recycled PET wastes

In this study, natural sawdust fillers from acacia were mixed with unsaturated polyester resin (UPR), which was prepared by recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste bottles to prepare sawdust/UPR composite. PET wastes were recycled through glycolysis and depolymerized to produce a formulation for the resin. The effects of alkali treatment, filler content, and filler size on the tensile, flexural, hardness, and water absorption of the composites were investigated. The results show that the modulus of both tensile and flexural increased with increasing filler contents, but the tensile and flexural strength of composites decreased. The size of sawdust also played a significant role in the mechanical properties, with smaller size sawdust producing higher strength and modulus. This is due to the greater surface area for filler–matrix interaction. The results also show that alkali treatment causes a better adhesion between sawdust and UPR matrix and improves the mechanical properties of the composites. Furthermore, surface treatment reduced the water absorption of composites. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

炭黑、微珠粉填充PE-UHMW复合材料性能比较分析

对超高相对分子质量聚乙烯(PE-UHMW)和炭黑、微珠粉填充的PE-UHMW复合材料进行了拉伸、硬度和磨损性能试验。结果表明：炭黑、微珠粉对PE-UHMW拉伸性能和摩擦磨损性能的影响不同，两种填充材料加入PE-UHMW后，复合材料的拉伸强度和断裂延伸率有不同程度的下降。炭黑的加入会使PE-UHMW的硬度下降，但可较好地改善其耐磨性，而微珠粉的加入会使PE-UHMW的耐磨性下降。     

Utilization of flyash as filler for unsaturated polyester resin

Flyash is an inexpensive material that can reduce the overall cost of the composite if used as a filler for unsaturated polyester resin (PR). Flyash-filled unsaturated polyester resin (FPR) was cast into sheets. The tensile strength, flexural strength, and flexural modulus were determined. Calcium carbonate-filled polyester resin (CPR) and PR were also cast into sheets. The above-mentioned properties were determined and a comparison was made. The filler concentration was varied from 0 to 15 wt %. It was found that FPR was inferior to CPR and PR composites with respect to tensile and flexural strengths. But FPR was found to have a higher flexural modulus than those of CPR and PR. FPR with 10% flyash was found to have poor acid and solvent (benzene) resistances and good saltwater, alkali, weathering, and freeze–thaw resistances as seen from the mechanical properties. The possible ways of improving the strength of FPR are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 1385–1391, 1998     

Development of Silicon Carbide Reinforced Jute Epoxy Composites: Physical,Mechanical and Thermo-mechanical Characterizations

The aim of the present study was to investigate the physical and thermo-mechanical characterization of silicon carbide filled needle punch nonwoven jute fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The composite materials were prepared by mixing different weight percentages (0–15 wt.%) of silicon carbide in needle punch nonwoven jute fiber reinforced epoxy composites by hand-lay-up techniques. The physical and mechanical tests have been performed to find the void content, water absorption, hardness, tensile strength, impact strength, fracture toughness and thermo-mechanical properties of the silicon carbide filled jute epoxy composites. The results indicated that increase in silicon carbide filler from 0 to 15 wt.% in the jute epoxy composites increased the void content by 1.49 %, water absorption by 1.83 %, hardness by 39.47 %, tensile strength by 52.5 %, flexural strength by 48.5 %, and impact strength by 14.5 % but on the other hand, decreased the thermal conductivity by 11.62 %. The result also indicated that jute epoxy composites reinforced with 15 wt.% silicon carbide particulate filler presented the highest storage modulus and loss modulus as compared with the unfilled jute epoxy composite.     

Three‐body abrasive wear behavior of E‐glass fabric reinforced/graphite‐filled epoxy composites

The present article summarizes an experimental study on three‐body abrasive wear behavior of glass fabric reinforced/graphite particulate‐filled epoxy composites. The wear behavior was assessed by rubber wheel abrasion tests (RWAT). The angular silica sand particle sizes in the range 200–250 μm were used as dry and loose abrasives. The tests were carried out for 270, 540, 810, and 1,080 m abrading distances at 22 and 32 N loads. The worn surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed varied responses under different abrading distance due to the addition of glass fabric/graphite filler into neat epoxy. It was observed that the glass fabric reinforcement to epoxy matrix (G‐E) is not beneficial to abrasive wear resistance. Further, inclusion of graphite filler to glass fabric reinforced epoxy composite performed poorly resulting in significant deterioration in wear performance while the neat epoxy showed better wear performance. Selected mechanical properties such as hardness, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation at fracture were analyzed for investigating wear property correlations. The worn surface features were studied using SEM to give insight into the wear mechanisms. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Raw and chemically treated bio-waste filled (Limonia acidissima shell powder) vinyl ester composites: Physical,mechanical, moisture absorption properties,and microstructure analysis

The rapid growth of environmentally sustainable and eco-friendly materials tends to the utilization of biowastes as filler in polymer matrix composites. The particulate composite with improved wettability of fillers and advanced approach can evolve polymer composites that exhibit promising applications in packaging, automobile, marine, construction, and aerospace. In the present work, one of the biowaste fillers were synthesized from Limonia acidissima shells via a top-down approach (pulverizing) and the surfaces were chemically modified using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) before they were used as fillers in vinyl ester polymer composites by different weight percentage (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt%). The prepared particulate composites were characterized by mechanical properties, moisture absorption behavior, and morphology. At different filler loading the tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact strength, hardness, density, and moisture intake tests were performed. The results reveal that the properties increased for composites filled with alkaline treated fillers for the same filler loading and found to be higher at filler loading of 15 wt%. The morphological analysis confirms the better interfacial bonding between alkali-treated particles and matrix due to the removal of non-cellulose materials from the surface of the particles.     

Influence of silicon carbide filler on mechanical and dielectric properties of glass fabric reinforced epoxy composites

Fiber‐reinforced polymeric composites (FRPCs) have emerged as an important material for automotive, aerospace, and other engineering applications because of their light weight, design flexibility, ease of manufacturing, and improved mechanical performance. In this study, glass‐epoxy (G‐E) and silicon carbide filled glass‐epoxy (SiC‐G‐E) composite systems have been fabricated using hand lay‐up technique. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break, flexural strength, and hardness have been investigated in accordance with ASTM standards. From the experimental investigations, it has been found that the tensile strength, flexural strength, and hardness of the glass reinforced epoxy composite increased with the inclusion of SiC filler. The results of the SiC (5 wt %)‐G‐E composite showed higher mechanical properties compared to G‐E system. The dielectric properties such as dielectric constant (permittivity), tan delta, dielectric loss, and AC conductivity of these composites have been evaluated. A drastic reduction in dielectric constant after incorporation of conducting SiC filler into epoxy composite has been observed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photomicrographs of the fractured samples revealed various aspects of the fractured surfaces. The failure modes of the tensile fractured surfaces have also been reported. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Polypropylene and potato starch biocomposites: Physicomechanical and thermal properties

To determine the possibility of using starch as biodegradable filler in the thermoplastic polymer matrix, starch‐filled polypropylene (PP) composites were prepared by extrusion of PP resin with 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt % of potato starch in corotating twin‐screw extruder. The extruded strands were cut into pellets and injection molded to make test specimens. These specimens were tested for physicomechanical properties such as tensile and flexural properties, Izod impact strength, density, and water absorption. These PP composites were further characterized by melt flow index (MFI), vicat softening point (VSP), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. It was found that, with increase in starch content, tensile modulus, flexural strength, and flexural modulus of the PP composites increased along with the increase in moisture, water absorption, and density, while retaining the VSP; but, tensile strength and elongation, impact strength, hardness, and MFI of the PP composites also decreased. DSC analysis of the PP composite revealed the reduction in melting temperature, heat of fusion, and percentage of crystallization of PP with increase in starch content. Similarly, TGA traces display enhanced thermal degradability for PP as starch content increases. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

玻纤增强聚丙烯复合材料性能研究

研究了玻纤(GF)、SEBS和聚丙烯接枝马来酸酐(PP-g-MAH)用量对GF增强聚丙烯复合材料性能的影响,以及PP/GF(65/35)、PP-g-MAH/PP/GF(15/65/35)的微观形态。结果表明:随着GF用量的增加,复合材料的拉伸强度、弯曲强度和弯曲模量增加,断裂伸长率降低,冲击强度先减小后增大,PP/GF复合材料断面呈脆性断裂;在PP/GF中添加增韧剂SEBS可以提高复合材料的冲击强度,但拉伸强度、断裂伸长率、弯曲强度和弯曲模量均减小;在PP/GF中添加增容剂PP-g-MAH,可使其拉伸强度、断裂伸长率、弯曲强度、弯曲模量和冲击强度均得到提高,当PP-g-MAH/PP/GF为15/65/35时,复合材料性能优异,材料断面呈韧性断裂。