Improvement of Impact and Water Barrier Properties of GLARE by Incorporation of Different Types of Nanoparticles

Abstract

Durability of fiber metal laminates (FMLs) is a very essential issue when using in humid and marine environments. Therefore, water barrier properties and impact damage resistance of glass aluminum reinforced epoxy (GLARE) filled with various types of nanofillers were investigated in this work. Silica (SiO2), titanium oxide (TiO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al) nanofillers were incorporated with 1 wt% into composite laminate core of GLARE. Impact tests were performed under dry, distilled and seawater conditions. Results showed that water absorption of nanofilled GLARE is lower than that of pristine GLARE in both distilled and seawater. After distilled and seawater conditioning, a decrease in impact strength has been identified for all specimens. In comparison with pristine GLARE, nanofilled GLARE shows an improvement in impact resistance under dry, distilled and seawater conditions. GLARE filled with SiO2 nanoparticles exhibits the highest impact strength under dry conditions with an enhancement of 14.2 %. However, TiO2 nanoparticles exhibits the highest impact strength under distilled and seawater conditions with an enhancement of 20.9 % and 20.5 %, respectively. Visual inspections and SEM images showed that adding nanoparticles improves adhesion between epoxy matrix/fiber in nanocomposite and enhances the bonding between the nanocomposite and the outer aluminum sheets.