EFFECT OF FILLER CONTENT AND SIZE ON THE FLEXURAL STRENGTH AND HARDNESS OF PURE IRON POWDER FILLED LAMINATED FIBERGLASS EPOXY COMPOSITES

Abstract

The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of the amount of pure iron powder (99.9987%), introduced as a filler in a glass-epoxy composite laminate, as well as the variation of its grain dimensions, on its flexure strength and hardness. Contact molding was used to produce laminate plates of 15, 20, and 25% of weight content with three different dimensions 92, 64, and 32 μm, and the fiberglass content was set at 30%. For the bending test, the specimens were prepared according to ISO 14125 standard specification, the test was carried out with three different speeds, and the required number of specimens were manufactured according to Taguchi's orthogonal array L9 (3 × 3) by varying three parameters (iron powder content, grain size, and test speed). The results were studied with the Taguchi method; however, the hardness was measured on plates with the same iron powder content while varying the dimensions of its grains (92, 64, and 32 μm). The results show that the pure iron powder content and dimension variations have a direct and clear influence on the composite material's mechanical characteristics, in such a way that: a specific percentage of filler and grains size reduction could widely increase the hardness as well as the material flexure strength. The results of the elaborated composite material's bending test were compared to a 45% glass-epoxy laminate. Whereas the hardness of the elaborated laminate was compared to a resin plate and the 45% glass-epoxy laminate.