Fabrication and mechanical properties of glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic elastomer composite

The paper investigates the effects of fabrication conditions on mechanical properties of glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic elastomer composites. The impregnation time was varied between 5 and 30 min and the cooling conditions were rapid and gradual cooling. Tensile testing was carried out on samples with different fibre orientations. Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) tests were carried out to evaluate the fracture toughness of the composites. The degree of crystallinity and morphology of the composite were studied by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Impregnation of matrix resin into glass fibre was found to be complete before 30 min and tensile properties increased with increasing impregnation time. SEM micrographs of fractured surfaces revealed poor adhesion between the matrix and the reinforcing agent. Due to the flexible nature of the composite, the fracture toughness (G_IC) could not be determined because of the formation of ridges on the surface.