Enhancement of mechanical and dynamic mechanical thermal characteristics of woven glass fabric–reinforced multi-nanoparticle–filled toughened epoxy composites

Abstract

In recent years, high-performance nanocomposite materials emerge as an alternative to traditional materials owing to their impressive mechanical properties and lightweight characteristics. However, enhancements on various characteristics of this type of material were still under investigation for numerous novel structural applications. The current research study has highlighted the effect of various nanofillers incorporation in glass fabric–reinforced toughened epoxy composite on the enhancement of mechanical and dynamic mechanical characteristics. Two different nanosized filler particles (Al2O3 and TiO2) were selected for applications of higher strength. The composite laminates were fabricated by using the vacuum bagging method, and curing processes were performed at room temperature. The test outcomes revealed that better tensile strength and maximum flexural strength were perceived with the S4 composite sample (Al2O3 + TiO2 nanofillers). It has been observed that the existence of both Al2O3 and TiO2 nanofillers enhances the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). The overall result of dynamic mechanical thermal analysis indicated that the inclusion of multi-nanoparticle fillers in the toughened epoxy composite showed better results than the traditional composite. The maximum tensile strength, flexural strength, shear strength, and micro-hardness of Al2O3 and TiO2 nanofiller-infused epoxy composites (S4) were 101 MPa, 5.68 MPa, 19.7 Mpa, and 46 Hv.