Abstract
The effect of thermal treatment of glass fibers (GF) on the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of polysulfone (PSU) based composites reinforced with GF was investigated. Flexural and shear tests were used to study the composites’ mechanical properties. A dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and a heat deflection temperature (HDT) test were used to study the thermo-mechanical properties of composites. The chemical structure of the composites was studied using IR-spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to illustrate the microstructure of the fracture surface. Three fiber to polymer ratios of initial and preheated GF composites (50/50, 60/40, 70/30 (wt.%)) were studied. The results showed that the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties improved with an increase in the fiber to polymer ratio. The interfacial adhesion in the preheated composites enhanced as a result of removing the sizing coating during the thermal treatment of GF, which improved the properties of the preheated composites compared with the composites reinforced with initial untreated fibers. The SEM images showed a good distribution of the polymer on the GF surface in the preheated GF composites.
Highlights
Polysulfone (PSU) is a high-performance amorphous thermoplastic with excellent mechanical properties, high service temperature due to its high glass transition temperature (Tg ) 185 ◦ C, flexibility, and excellent thermal stability
1 Hz and a deformation of 0.1%, in a temperature range from 30 to 220 ◦ C; the heating rate was of FTIRThe heat deflection temperature (HDT) tests were carried out using an Instron CEAST 6910 HDT/Vicat tester
The samples sized 80 mm × 10 mm × 4 mm were used in the HDT test at a load of 1.8 MPa and a span length of Figure 2 shows the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra for the initial PSU and PSU reinforced with both initial and 64 mm (ISO 75)
Summary
Polysulfone (PSU) is a high-performance amorphous thermoplastic with excellent mechanical properties, high service temperature due to its high glass transition temperature (Tg ) 185 ◦ C, flexibility, and excellent thermal stability. These superior properties make PSU the most appropriate choice for wide applications such as medicine, food, processing equipment, and relatively high-temperature components [1,2,3,4]. Many materials and types of fillers are used to reinforce polymer matrix composites [5,6,7,8]. Many efforts have been made to propose an appropriate engineered fiber/matrix interface to significantly increase
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