Effect of inclusion of nanosilica and mechanical behaviour of glass epoxy composites

Abstract

Glass fibre composite structures with their high strength to weight ratio are very attractive materials for aerospace sports defence and automotive applications Engineers prefer them for marine applications since polymer composites display enhanced fatigue and corrosion resistant properties and moreover it can be tailored to specific requirement of the customer After the development of a novel composite material its anticipated in-service performance is estimated through nondestructive evaluation techniques chemical tests mechanical tests etc Yet it is essential to understand the strength of composite materials in the course of design phase A major constraint for the efficient utilization of composite laminates is the drastic reduction of its strength due to failures like matrix cracking fibre matrix debonding delamination fibre fracture and fibre pullout The principal objective of this research is to enhance the strength of the matrix system in Eglass fibre reinforced composite laminates by reinforcing nanosilica particles as secondary reinforcement Eglass fibre and epoxy resin were used as primary reinforcement and matrix system respectively whereas nanosilica was used as secondary reinforcement Nanosilica toughened thin GFRP composite laminates were developed with a systematic variation of secondary reinforcement concentration in matrix in the order of 025 wt 05 wt 075 wt and 1 wt The chemical behavior and composition of the developed nanocomposites were analysed through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy FTIR newline