Water absorption behaviour of glass fibre-reinforced polymer composite with clamshell and cenosphere fillers

Abstract

This article deals with the effect of filler material on the water absorption behaviour of glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites. The fillers are cenosphere and clamshell which are industrial waste and marine waste, respectively. The composite with six layers of fibre is prepared using the most common way of hand lay-up process. Different contents of filler, that is, 0, 10 and 20 wt.% of clamshell and cenosphere are added in the glass fibre-epoxy polymer. These are the wastes that have the potential to be an important filler in polymer matrix composite (PMC). The water absorption behaviour of the glass composites is studied and found that filler content plays a significant role in the water absorption property. The addition of both fillers improves the water resistance of the composites. The diffusion mechanism of water absorption of the present composites follows the non-Fickian type. Composites with cenosphere filler show better water resistance when compared to composites with clamshell filler. The effect of moisture absorption on the tensile strength of composites is also investigated which shows that the tensile strength of the composites is degraded after water immersion. The degradation of the tensile strength in the composite is lower in the case of saline water when compared to distilled water. Tensile strength of the composite is increased with the addition of filler and is highest in glass fibre-epoxy composite at 20 wt.% for both clamshell and cenosphere fillers. 20 wt.% of clamshell filler in the composite shows better tensile strength when compared to 20 wt.% of cenosphere in the composite.