Unsaturated Polyester Resin Filled with Cementitious Materials: A Comprehensive Study of Filler Loading Impact on Mechanical Properties, Microstructure, and Water Absorption
Abstract:In recent years, cheaply available cementitious materials (CMs) are increasingly finding useful applications in construction engineering. This manuscript focused on the development and fabrication of unsaturated polyester resin (UPR)/cementitious material composites to be potentially useful in a variety of construction applications. For this purpose, five types of powders from widely available fillers, i.e., black cement (BC), white cement (WC), plaster of Paris (POP), sand (S), and pit sand (PS), were used. C… Show more
“…However, its brittleness can limit its use in some applications. [2] Fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites are finding widespread use in various engineering applications due to their advantageous combination of properties. They offer tailorable mechanical behavior influenced by factors like fiber type, fiber orientation, and matrix properties.…”
“…However, its brittleness can limit its use in some applications. [2] Fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites are finding widespread use in various engineering applications due to their advantageous combination of properties. They offer tailorable mechanical behavior influenced by factors like fiber type, fiber orientation, and matrix properties.…”
A bipolar plate is one of the most important components of a fuel cell with a proton exchange membrane. Due to the requirement to retain high electrical conductivity, superior mechanical qualities, and low production cost, the development of a suitable material for use as bipolar plate is crucial from a scientific and technological standpoint. Graphite based composites are a viable substitute for metal-based BPs because of their superior mechanical qualities, corrosion resistance, recyclability and cost-effective manufacturing processes. In this work, we attempted to prepare graphite-unsaturated polyester resin composites that would satisfy the technical goals set by the US DOE for 2020 while also making sure that dielectric nature and mechanical strength were well-balanced. Specifically, we tried to investigate how the filler to binder ratio affected the mechanical and dielectric characteristics. With an increase in the amount of graphite up to 5%, the composites' hardness and tensile strength climbed linearly whereas the overall elongation diminishes. The composites' flexural and compressive strengths and the total elongation for compressive and flexural strength increases upto 3% graphite and subsequently drops down as the graphite percentage increases. Composites with 1% graphite have the maximum dielectric strength, while those with 3% graphite show the lowest. Based on these findings, we suggest that a composite that contains between 1% and 3% graphite would work well as a bipolar plate.
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