Abstract
In this paper, a functionally graded polymer nanocomposite (FGPNC) was arranged via mixing the Alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles (50 – 100 nm) with an epoxy matrix through five layers of 1.2 mm thickness for each layer using hand lay–up technique. Different volume fractions were taken (0, 1, 2, 3 and 4) % of the used nanoparticles and were cast in molds made from acrylic for creating the graded composite sheet in the thickness direction. The prepared isotropic specimen was tested by tensile and compressive test. The results showed that the (4% Vf of Al2O3) has the best enhancement of the ultimate tensile strength (85.25% from neat epoxy) and decreased thereafter. Flexural properties of three different types of functionally graded materials (FGMs), including FGM1, FGM2 and FGM3, isotropic nanocomposite (2% Al2O3) and pristine epoxy were obtained. Flexural strength and flexural modulus of the functionally graded polymer nanocomposite for each type of FGMs enhanced by (51.7%) and (67%), respectively for the FGM1 loaded from the neat epoxy side, whereas for the FGM1 loaded from the (4%) side, the improvement in these properties was (17.8%) and (29.4%), correspondingly over those for the neat epoxy. For FGM2, the improvement in the flexural strength was (27%) and (71.8%) for the flexural modulus as compared with pristine epoxy. The enhancement in the flexural strength of FGM3 was (27%) and flexural modulus (57.7%). Design Modeler (ANSYS Workbench) was used to verify the experimental flexural test results. A very good agreement was found between the experimental and numerical results with a maximum error of (3.92%) in the flexural modulus for FGM1 loaded from the composite side.
Highlights
functionally graded materials (FGMs) are inconsistent composites comprising (2) or extra materials so that their composition changes in a gradual manner in certain spatial direction
Different acrylic moulds were used in this work (Figure 2), square mould having a size of 225 mm × 225 mm × 6 mm, and the other moulds were cut from the acrylic sheets of 6 mm thickness by CNC laser machine according to the ASTM standards for different types of tests and the cylindrical moulds for compression test
The results indicated an improvement of (67%) in the flexural modulus and (51.7%) in the flexural strength of the functionally graded polymer nanocomposite above those for the layered samples of the neat epoxy if loaded from the side of neat epoxy owing to the lowest layer; that means a composite layer having a high Young's modulus's compared to pure epoxy
Summary
FGMs are inconsistent composites comprising (2) or extra materials so that their composition changes in a gradual manner in certain spatial direction. Characteristics of the arranged alumina nano filler epoxybased matrix composite was evaluated, including testing some of mechanical properties tests (i.e., tensile, creep, impact, compression, bending, flexural, shear and wear), and some physical properties tests (i.e., thermal conductivity and dielectric constant). Involves studying the effects of weight fraction and the type of the reinforcement particulates on the mechanical properties of the composite materials which include tensile, compression, bending, impact, and hardness. Tsotra and Friedrich [6] investigated the flexural characteristics of the functionally graded epoxyresin/carbon fiber composites, the centrifugation technique was used to create a graded distribution of carbon fibers in an epoxy resin matrix, and the flexural modulus and strength of the functionally graded material were influenced via the graded structure. An experimental test was compared with a finite element model and elucidated a good agreement for flexural test
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