Impacts of Aramid Fiber (PPTA), Glass Wool (GW), Aluminum (Al), and Silicon Carbide (SiC) Particles on Mechanical Behavior of Epoxy Hybrid Composites and their Morphological Investigation

Abstract

AbstractParticle‐reinforced polymer composites have figured prominently in technological appliances owing to their high mechanical modulus and strength. Due to the obvious demand for lighter but more resilient composites to substitute heavy metal parts, several investigations have been made into particle‐based composites. The current research investigates the impact of reinforcing aramid fiber (PPTA), glass wool (GW), aluminum (Al), and silicon carbide (SiC) powder into an epoxy matrix on aspects of mechanical and morphological characteristics. Hand lay‐up technology was performed to manufacture composites at five different degrees of reinforcement loading (5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 wt. %). SEM and optical microscopes were used for microstructural investigation in order to evaluate the cohesion and dispersion of the reinforcing particles across the matrix phase of the hybrid composites. The elongation at break, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and hardness of epoxy‐PPTA‐GW−Al‐SiC hybrid composites improved, whereas the tensile strength and impact strength decreased from 5 wt. % to 40 wt. % loading. Among fabricated hybrid composite compositions, the morphological and mechanical characteristics obtained at 40 wt. % PPTA, GW, Al, and SiC powder loading are the best among all others.