Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Hybrid Composites of Discarded Fishnet and Glass Fibre Reinforcement with Polyester Matrix

Abstract

Polyester based composites were fabricated and characterized for their tensile, morphological and dynamic mechanical properties such as storage and loss moduli as a function of temperature. The morphological attributes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and COSLAB microscope. The morphological investigations have revealed a uniformly distributed polyester matrix of the composites. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed an enhancement in the energy dissipation ability of the composite 4GF and an average storage modulus of the composite 3GF/1FN relative to the soft polyester phase. The tensile modulus and tensile strength increased up to 0.5 %, accompanied by while the strain at break remained largely unaffected. Fractured surface morphology indicates that the failure mode of the composites undergoes a switch-over from matrix-controlled shear deformation to the filler-controlled loading of the composites for specific applications. Hence, the utilization of discarded fishnet incorporated composites mitigates the problem of waste disposal.