Effect of processing variables on mechanical properties of montmorillonite clay/unsaturated polyester nanocomposite using Taguchi based grey relational analysis

Abstract

The present investigation addresses the influence of process variables on the mechanical properties of montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay with unsaturated polyester, using the mechanical shear mixing process. The rotational speed, mixing time, rotor blade design and clay content were chosen as process variables. The influence of these process variables on mechanical properties were studied with the help of grey relational analysis. Organically modified MMT nanoclay was used as the reinforcing filler, in order to increase the swelling of the clay with the polyester resin. Nanocomposites were fabricated based on the experimental design using the L 9 orthogonal array. Among the parameters studied, blade design was identified as the parameter with the most influence, due to the presence of a varying shear force, which peeled off the clay platelets from the stacked arrangement of clay tactoids. Grey relational analysis was used to obtain the optimum process parameters for multiple quality characteristics such as tensile, flexural and impact strength. It was observed that the Shore D hardness values for all nine experiments possess higher values than virgin polyester. Morphological studies have been carried out for the specimen with optimum process parameters using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tensile, flexural and impact fractured specimens were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for optimum conditions.

Mechanical properties and thermal stability of low-density polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride/montmorillonite nanocomposites

“…By comparison, the T d in the LDPE-g-MA group is almost 10 8C above that in the LDPE group, and the other T d values at different clay contents showed no significant difference. Our observations related to the thermal stability of the composites samples are in good agreement with the results reported in the literature [27,28]. It appears that the dispersion degree and thermal stability of composites both increase because of the presence of the MA grafts along the polymer chains.…”

Assessment on hybrid jute/coir fibers reinforced polyester composite with hybrid fillers under different environmental conditions

“…It shown that, the fillers have high aspect ratio and it allows the larger interface area which increases the reinforcing effect. Several researchers have proved that the polymer composite prepared by incorporation of fillers like montmorillonite [23,24], CaCO3 [25], Al2O3 [26], TiO2 [26], talc [28], graphene [29] and carbon nano tubes [30] show the notable development in mechanical, thermal, physical properties and degradability compare to normal composites. The addition of filler in different scaling like nano and micro meter can also influence the structure-property relationships based on their dispersion ability with the polymer matrix.…”

“…Presence of fillers in the reinforced composites changes the base property of the actual material [31]. Montmorillonite nanoclay (MMT-NC) is the most promising filler found to enhance the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties and also reduces the water absorption [23][24]32,33]. Eggshell powder (ESP) is an inorganic bio-filler and suitable reinforcement in plastic/polymer composites.…”

Effects of Nanofillers and Synergistic Action of Carbon Black/Nanoclay Hybrid Fillers in Chlorobutyl Rubber

“…The effect of nanoclay on the electrical resistivity of various polymer matrices has already been studied [67,68]…”