Effects of natural mica particle fillers on the mechanical properties of glass fiber/epoxy composite plates
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Date
2024
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Abstract
Due to its high tensile and bending strength as well as high modulus (172 GN/m2), mica is a promising additive to improve the performance of polymer composites. Additionally, since it is abundant in nature and therefore cost-effective, it can be an alternative to commonly used but costly particles like carbon nanotube, graphene, and silica. This study focused on the effect of mica particles on the mechanical characteristics of glass fiber-reinforced laminated composites. Unlike the conventional production methods, a layer-wise method was adopted in order to add micro-mica particles into the glass fiber/epoxy composite. Composite plates with 1-, 3-, and 5-layer mica treatment as well as untreated composite plates were manufactured. Mechanical characteristics determined by tensile, three-point bending, and low-velocity impact tests were examined as a function of micaceous layer number. The interior structure of the composites was scanned by the use of scanning electron microscopy. According to the tensile and three-point bending tests, the micro-mica particle fillers failed to display the anticipated positive effect on strength values. Nevertheless, remarkable increases were observed in the average flexural modulus of mica-filled samples in comparison to the control samples without mica content. Also, the average peak energies during low-velocity impact tests were increased by the effect of mica fillers such that the average peak energies for the 1-layer, 3-layer, and 5-layer samples increased by 12.9, 1.9, and 10.3%, respectively, in comparison to the control samples. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering.
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Bending strength , Bending tests , Carbon nanotubes , Cost effectiveness , Fillers , Glass fibers , Laminated composites , Mica , Plates (structural components) , Scanning electron microscopy , Silica , Composite plates , Control samples , Epoxy composite , Fiber-epoxy composites , Glass-fibers , Impact test , Low velocity impact test , Mechanical characteristics , Mica particles , Peak energy , Epoxy composites