Mechanical and Fractographic Studies of Surface-Treated Fly Ash Reinforced Polyester Composites

Abstract

In this study, the surface-treated fly ash particles, ranging from 0 to 50 percent of weight were used as fillers added to the unsaturated polyester (UP). The fly ash (FA) particles were characterized using Mastersizer 2000 particle size analyzer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that the effective reinforcing particles had a mean diameter of 60 μm and were both the glass and crystalline phases of the solid FA. The mechanical properties of the composites were evaluated by conducting the hardness and tensile tests. The Charpy impact test was used to determine the amount of energy absorbed during break, and the fractography was observed by SEM. The micro-hardness was found to increase with the increasing amounts of FA particles. The 20-40 wt.% of the particles showed the best results of both impact strength and Modulus of elasticity . Also, high strength was obtained indicating that the FA can be a good filler to improve the mechanical properties of the UP matrix. The fractographic studies of the chosen compositions confirmed that the particles had strongly bonded with the UP matrix.