Influence of barite particulate filler on the mechanical behaviour of carbon fiber reinforced LY556 epoxy matrix composites

This work is intended to explore the influence of barite particulate filler on the mechanical behaviour of carbon fiber (Cf) reinforced polymer matrix (CFRP) composites. The carbon fiber utilized for the study was T300 grade and the polymer matrix utilized was LY556 epoxy resin (Epr). The CFRP composites prepared with 55 weight (wt.) % T300 carbon fiber and 45 wt.% LY556 epoxy resin without barite particulate filler was utilized for control experimentation. The CFRP composites with barite filler were prepared by varying the proportion of barite particles from 2.5 wt.% to 15 wt.% in steps of 2.5 wt.%. The composites were prepared using the hand lay-up process and the barite particles were mixed with the epoxy resin by means of ultrasonic agitation. The prepared composites were subjected to tension, compression, hardness, flexural and impact testing. The CFRP composites with 10 wt.% barite particles yielded the best tensile strength, hardness and impact strength. The tensile strength, hardness and impact strength attained an increase of 13.18%, 5.6% and 18.68% respectively, compared to the CFRP composite without barite filler. The compressive strength of the CFRP composite with 15 wt.% barite filler was observed to be more than twice the compressive strength of the CFRP composite without barite filler. However, the flexure strength reduced steadily with the addition of barite particulates. The fractured surface morphologies of the prepared composites were characterised using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The chemical composition and morphology of barite powder was analysed using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX) and SEM, respectively.

Influence of the size of walnut shell particulates on mechanical properties of epoxy-based composites

In the present work, a new class of polymer composite is developed using walnut shell powder (WSP) as particulate filler in the epoxy matrix. Three different sizes of WSP are used for preparing three different sets of composites. The particle size selected is 50-micron, 75-micron, and 100-micron. In each set of composites with different particle size, four compositions i.e., 5 wt. %, 10 wt. %, 15 wt. % and 20 wt. % of the WSP is fabricated. All prepared composites have undergone testing to study the behavior of the material under mechanical loading. The different mechanical tests performed are the tensile test, flexural test, compressive test and hardness test. From the experimentation, the inclusion of WSP appreciably alters the different mechanical properties of epoxy. With the increase in the content of filler, an appreciable increase in the value of hardness and compressive strength is observed. Though, it has been seen that the tensile strength and flexural strength of the material is compromised slightly when the content of WSP increases beyond a certain limit. Further, it is observed that composites fabricated with smaller size particles give improved mechanical properties as compared to their counterparts.

A review on tribo-mechanical properties of micro- and nanoparticulate-filled nylon composites

Nylon composites are of evolving interest due to their good strength, toughness, and low coefficient of friction. Various fillers like micro- and nanoparticulates of metals and metal compounds were used to enhance the mechanical and tribological properties of nylons for many years by researchers. In this paper, an overall understanding of composites, filler materials, especially particulate filler materials, application areas of polymer composites, wear of polymers, and the effect of various fillers on tribo-mechanical properties of nylons have been discussed. The detailed review is limited to micro- and nanoparticulate fillers and their influence on the mechanical and tribological properties of various nylon matrices.

Characterisation and Properties of Recycled Craft Shell Powder/Epoxy Composites

The properties of polymer composites can be tailor made by incorporating suitable filler and fiber as a reinforcement in the polymer matrix. In this work, craft shell powder had been used a natural filler in the Epoxy resin and the composites were prepared at various proportions(4%, 8%, 12%, 16% and 20%) of craft shell powder using hand layup method. The specimens were subjected to various mechanical testing such as tensile test, flexural test, impact test as per ASTM standards. The test results revealed that particulate filler reinforcement resulted in marginal increase in tensile strength but the properties decrease at higher volume fraction of the fiber. But, the values of mechanical moduli had shown better improvement due to filler addition. SEM images were taken to analyse the interfacial bonding between the matrix and filler particles.

Synthesis and Erosion Wear Analysis of Short Bamboo Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites Filled with Ceramic Fillers

Hybrid natural fiber reinforced composites with ceramic fillers has been fabricated. Two ceramic fillers (Alumina and Silicon Carbide) have been used for the synthesis of composites and the samples have been fabricated with hand layup technique. 10% and 20% weight percentage of filler materials have been used for the different sets of composite samples. Erosion wear analysis of these composite samples has been carried out at different impingement angles (30,45,60,75, and 90) with varying impact velocities (48 m/s, 70 m/s, 82 m/s, and 109 m/s) and with varying erodent size (108, 125,150, 180µm). Results for the composites with and without filler have been compared. It has been observed that composites filled with particulate filler shows improvement in wear resistance properties as compared to composites without filler. Among the two fillers, Al2O3 has shown better resistance as compared to silicon carbide. A scanning electron microscope has been used to study the morphology of eroded surfaces and the mode of material removal.