Mechanical properties of glass fabric/polyester composites: Effect of silicone coatings on the fabrics

Abstract

An experimental investigation was carried out to study the effect of a silicone coating on the mechanical properties of polyester/woven glass fabric composites, fabricated by resin transfer molding. E-glass woven fabrics were coated with a silicone elastomer by solution dip coating. The effect of variation of silicone amounts on the impact resistance, toughness, and mechanical properties of the composite was determined. Short beam shear tests were performed to assess the effect of coating on the adhesion of the fiber to the matrix. The coated specimens exhibited worse interlaminar shear strength over that of uncoated fabrics. Three-point bending tests were also performed to investigate the effect of the coating on flexural properties. Whereas flexural strength and Young's modulus decreased with increasing amount of coating, the toughness, represented by the area under the stress-strain curve, presented a maximum. Finally, notched Izod impact tests were carried out and the curve for the energy absorbed during impact versus the amount of coating also appeared to have a maximum, indicating an interesting slot for optimum impact performance.

Evaluation of interfacial relaxation due to water absorption in fiber–polymer composites

“…This is not surprising since the silane coating is introduced to ensure chemical bonding at the interface, whereas in the case of clean and PDMS-treated fabrics the matrix bonds to the reinforcement only through mechanical anchoring. Moreover, in the presence of the PDMS coating, apart from the bad affinity between PDMS and polyester resin, the ability of the polyester resin to penetrate through the strands of the fabric is hindered [46].…”

Flexural and Shear Properties of Silica Particle Modified Glass Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite

“…The fiber-matrix interface strengthening of the fiber coating has wide applications [13][14][15][16][17][18]. Zhu et al [13] found that coating the SiO 2 -rich coating on the SiC f fiber increased the fiber-matrix interfacial strength and the resulting tensile strength of the composite up to 55 and 45%, respectively.…”

Woven glass fabric/polyester composites: effect of interface tailoring on water absorption

“…Moreover, in the presence of the PDMS coating, apart from the bad affinity between PDMS and the polyester resin, the ability of the polyester resin to penetrate through the fabric is hindered. 13,18,19 To compare dry and wet specimens, it seems that, in the case of the silane-treated composite, water absorption does not seriously affect the ILSS. It is anticipated that the chemical bonds established through the silane coating prevent moisture penetration at the interface, that is, finishes are effective against molecular water penetration by diffusion along the glass-resin interface.…”

“…The former is known to chemically bond to the polyester matrix, thus hindering further water absorption, whereas the others lead to the formation of composites with weak interfacial adhesion. 12 A previous study 13 found that a PDMS coating greatly enhances the impact strength when deposited on clean glass fabrics. The same behavior was also observed when polyamide coatings were alternatively applied.…”