Dynamic mechanical, mechanical and morphological properties of reactive thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer/unsaturated polyester/glass fibre hybrid composites

Abstract

Unsaturated polyester (UP) reinforced with self-synthesised reactive thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP)-methacryloyl copolymer (LCMC) and glass fibre (GF), the hybrid composites of UP/GF/LCMC were prepared by moulding technology. The dynamic mechanical analysis indicated that storage modulus and glass transition temperature (T g ) of hybrid composites increased significantly because of the addition of LCMC. The effect of LCMC content on the mechanical properties of LCMC/UP/GF hybrid composites such as impact strength, specific strength and modulus and load-displacement relationship were also investigated through static mechanical tests. The mechanical properties of hybrid composites increased significantly because of the addition of LCMC. The crystal behaviour analysis of LCMC/UP blend was investigated by X-ray diffraction and polarising optical microscopy. The results showed that the crystal phase and texture structure of LCMC still existed in the blends after blending with UP. The morphology of fracture surfaces of hybrid composites containing different TLCP contents was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The present paper discussed the mechanism for the improvement of dynamic mechanical and mechanical properties.

Development of unsaturated polyester/fiber glass composites with foundry sand

“…Polyester resins are frequently used in GFRPs and present chemical resistance, low cost and easy handling, in addition to combining high mechanical resistance to weight ratio [8] and low water absorption [9]. In addition, the combination of different types of fibers and loads allows the construction of pipes with a wide range of mechanical and structural properties [10].…”