The strength of glass fiber composite materials by inclusion of CaCO3 and SiO2 nanoparticles into resin

Abstract

In this study, the effects of CaCO3 and SiO2 nanoparticles on tensile strength of E-Glass fiber composite materials were investigated. Composite structures were produced by mixing CaCO3 nanoparticles into 3%, 5% and 10% by weight, SiO2 nanoparticles into 1%, 3% and 5% by weight epoxy resin. High nanoparticle rates are due to the large diameter of the powders and the desire to form a darker resin. In addition, different fiber orientations were used to emphasize inclusion of nano-additive materials into the resin in case of a decrease in the number of unidirectional fibers. Samples prepared according to the ASTM D3039 Standards were tested by uniaxial tensile machine, Instron 8801. Scanning electron microscopy analysis were performed and failure was mainly caused by debonding and clumping of fibers and fiber/matrix failure. An inclusion of CaCO3 and SiO2 nanoparticles improved the strength of the glass fiber composite sandwich structures. The optimum amount of nano-particles supplemented with different ratios were determined as 3% for CaCO3 and 1% for SiO2. Sufficient enough nanoparticles inclusion increased the quality of the adhesion between fiber and matrices. The inclusion of nanoparticle additives in E-Glass fiber composite materials had a significant effect and positively affected the adhesion properties of the matrix.