The cyclic-fatigue behaviour of an epoxy polymer modified with micron-rubber and nano-silica particles

Manjunatha, C. M.; Taylor, A. C.; Kinloch, A. J.; Sprenger, Stephan

doi:10.1007/s10853-009-3653-y

Cited by 57 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…From the studies undertaken on the NFRP and GFRP composites, all the above toughening mechanisms were identified to be operative. Hence, these toughening mechanisms, seen previously in epoxy bulk polymers [38,54,55] and epoxy matrix polymers [36,37], are responsible for the increases seen in the interlaminar fracture energies, G c , as the matrix undergoes modification via the silica nanoparticles and/or the rubber microparticles, as shown in Table 4 and Fig. 4.…”

Section: Toughening Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…4 shows the interlaminar fracture energy, G c , plotted against the specific tensile modulus, E/q, for the NFRP and GFRP composites, as determined from the present study, and for two similar composites employing carbon fibres (CF) [38,52], where E is the tensile modulus and q is the density of the composite. The carbon-fibre composites were of a very similar type to the present NFRP and GFRP composites in terms of their fibre architecture and the matrices employed, and they were also manufactured using a resin infusion process.…”

Section: Comparison Of the Mechanical Properties Of The Rift-manufactmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Firstly, the role that the water absorbed by the natural fibres prior to manufacture via the RIFT process has upon the mechanical properties of the NFRPs will be investigated, and the RIFT process optimised as necessary. Secondly, previous work [35][36][37][38] has shown that the toughness of the epoxy polymeric matrix also plays a key role in producing a composite material with a relatively high toughness. Thus, in order to increase the toughness of the epoxy polymeric matrix, and possibly the resulting NFRP composite, the matrix will be modified with (a) silica nanoparticles, (b) rubber microparticles, and (c) a combination of both of these types of particles to give a hybrid-toughened epoxy matrix.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tough, natural-fibre composites based upon epoxy matrices

et al. 2015

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Flax fibres and cellulose fibres were used to manufacture composites with particle-modified epoxy matrices in order to develop 'green' composites which possess relatively high values of interlaminar fracture energy, G c . The flax used had a unidirectional architecture of continuous yarns spun from short, interlocked fibres. The regenerated cellulose consisted of continuous and nontwisted pure cellulose fibres in a plain-woven architecture. The natural-fibre-reinforced-polymer (NFRP) composites employed an anhydride-cured diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A epoxy as the matrix. The epoxy polymeric matrix was modified with (a) silica nanoparticles, (b) rubber microparticles, and (c) a combination of both of these types of particles to give a hybrid-toughened epoxy matrix. The composites were manufactured via a resin infusion under flexible-tooling (RIFT) process. Preliminary studies on the NFRP composites manufactured using the initial-RIFT process clearly showed the deleterious effect that moisture present in the natural fibres had upon the properties of the NFRP composites, since the trapped water cannot escape from the composite panel. Hence, an optimised-RIFT process was developed whereby the natural fibres were dried in a fan oven prior to being employed in the RIFT process. This reduced the water content of the fibres from around 9 to 10 wt% to about 1 wt%. Significant improvements in the physical and mechanical properties were recorded for the NFRP composites manufactured using this optimised-RIFT process. Indeed, in particular, very dramatic improvements in the G c of the NFRP composites were measured, especially when the epoxy polymeric matrix was modified using the silica nanoparticles and/or rubber microparticles. For example, a steady-state propagation value of G c of about 1935 J/m 2 was measured for the flax-fibre composite with the hybrid epoxy matrix, compared to values of 1110 and 535 J/m 2 for the flax-fibre and glass-fibre composites based on the unmodified (i.e., the 'control') epoxy matrix, respectively.

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Section: Toughening Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 63%

Section: Comparison Of the Mechanical Properties Of The Rift-manufactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tough, natural-fibre composites based upon epoxy matrices

et al. 2015

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“…Fourthly, as may be seen from Figure 3, for the values of the interlaminar fracture energy there is the general trend of an increased toughness being recorded for all the composite materials as the toughness of the bulk epoxy polymer matrix is increased by the use of silica nanoparticles and/or rubber microparticles. Finally, Figure 4 shows the interlaminar fracture energy, G c , plotted against the specific tensile modulus, E/ρ, for the NFRP and GFRP composites, as determined from the present study, and for two similar composites employing carbon fibres (CF) [38,39]; where ρ is the density of the composite. The carbonfibre composites were of a very similar type to the present NFRP and GFRP composites in terms of their fibre architecture and the matrices employed, and they were also manufactured using a resin-infusion process.…”

Section: (B) Mechanical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

From matrix nano- and micro-phase tougheners to composite macro-properties

Kinloch

Taylor

Techapaitoon

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Media SummaryThe properties of natural-fibre reinforced-plastic (NFRP) composites based upon epoxy polymer matrices containing silica nanoparticles and rubber microparticles have been studied using (a) unidirectional flax-fibres or (b) regeneratedcellulose fibres in the architecture of a plain-woven fabric. They were manufactured using a low-cost resin-infusion method. The values of toughness of the NFRP composites were remarkably high, being typically about 75% higher than for the corresponding, traditional, glass-fibre composites. The reasons for the very good performance of the NFRPs were identified and a quantitative model developed. AbstractIn the present paper the morphology and toughness of a range of bulk epoxy polymers, which incorporate a second-phase of well dispersed silica nanoparticles and/or rubber microparticles, have been determined. Secondly, the macro-properties of natural-fibre reinforced-plastic (NFRP) composites based upon these epoxy polymers have been ascertained, using (a) unidirectional flax-fibres or (b) regenerated-cellulose fibres in the architecture of a plain-woven fabric. Thirdly, the toughening mechanisms which are induced in these materials by the presence of the silica nanoparticles, the rubber microparticles and the natural fibres have been identified. Finally, the values of the toughness of the bulk epoxy polymers and corresponding NFRPs have been quantitatively modelled. The increased toughness recorded for the bulk epoxy polymer due to the presence of the silica nanoparticles and/or rubber microparticles was indeed typically transferred to the NFRP composites when using such epoxies as the matrices for the fibres. Thus, the important role that may be played by modifications to the epoxy matrices in order to increase the toughness of the composites was very clearly demonstrated by these results. However, notwithstanding, the toughening mechanisms induced by the fibres were essentially responsible for the very high toughnesses of the NFRP composites, compared with the bulk epoxy polymers. The modelling studies successfully predicted the values of toughness of the bulk epoxy polymers and of the NFRP composites. These studies also quantified the extent to which each toughening mechanism, induced by the second-phase nano-and micro-particles and the natural fibres, contributed to the overall values of toughness of the materials. Keywords:Fracture; Modelling; Nanocomposites; Natural-fibre Composites IntroductionHigh-performance polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) typically employ epoxy resins as the matrix for continuous fibres. When cured, epoxy resins are highly-crosslinked thermosetting polymers which exhibit good elevated temperature resistance and low creep. However, their high crosslink density causes them to have a poor resistance to the initiation and growth of cracks. The addition of a second-phase, which is well dispersed, can significantly increase the toughness of thermoset polymers [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Thus, to achieve a relatively tough epoxy-polymer matrix, an ...

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“…Given its importance concerning measurable properties, such as fracture toughness; fracture energy, strain; stiffness [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], it is no longer sufficient to simply state from viewing a micrograph that the nanoparticles are well-or poorly-dispersed. Instead exact knowledge of the extent of dispersion is sought such that correlations can be identified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying nanoparticle dispersion: application of the Delaunay network for objective analysis of sample micrographs

et al. 2011

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Measuring quantitatively the nanoparticle dispersion of a composite material requires more than choosing a particular parameter and determining its correspondence to good and bad dispersion. It additionally requires anticipation of the measure's behaviour towards imperfect experimental data, such as that which can be obtained from a limited number of samples. It should be recognised that different samples from a common parent population can give statistically different responses due to sample variation alone and a measure of the likelihood of this occurring allows a decision on the dispersion to be made. It is also important to factor into the analysis the quality of the data in the micrograph with it: (a) being incomplete because some of the particles present in the micrograph are indistinguishable or go unseen; (b) including additional responses which are false. With the use of our preferred method, this paper investigates the effects on the measured dispersion quality of nanoparticles of the micrograph's magnification settings, the role of the fraction of nanoparticles visible and the number of micrographs used. It is demonstrated that the best choice of magnification, which gives the clearest indication of dispersion type, is dependent on the type of nanoparticle structure present. Furthermore it is found that the measured

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The cyclic-fatigue behaviour of an epoxy polymer modified with micron-rubber and nano-silica particles

Cited by 57 publications

References 14 publications

Tough, natural-fibre composites based upon epoxy matrices

Tough, natural-fibre composites based upon epoxy matrices

From matrix nano- and micro-phase tougheners to composite macro-properties

Quantifying nanoparticle dispersion: application of the Delaunay network for objective analysis of sample micrographs

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