Abstract
The purpose of this study is to study the effects of montmorillonite (MMT) nanofiller on the mechanical properties of glass fibre recyclates (rGF) reinforced unsaturated polyester (UP) composites. Alumina-silicates nanoclay such as MMT can improves the mechanical performance of polymeric composites. This study uses the mechanical recycling process to grind the GFRP waste into recyclates. MMT nanoclay was dispersed into UP using ultrasonicator. Different weight percentage of rGF at 25 wt.%, 30 wt.% and 40 wt.% were mixed in UP-MMT resin and formed into composites plate using compression moulding. Preliminary study shows that, the tensile strength of 25 wt.% raw rGF-UP composites was approximately 50% lower than of UP. Therefore, raw rGF was sieved into coarse and fine grade to improve the tensile properties of the composites. Compared to raw rGF, sieved rGF has better tensile strength due to better fibre distribution of rGF and uniformed fibre length. Coarse rGF composites which contain relatively larger aspect ratio (longer fibre length) have better tensile properties than fine rGF. The inclusion of MMT nanofiller in polyester resin enables the tensile strength of the composites to increase. For example, the tensile strength of 40 wt.% fine rGF-3 wt.% MMT hybrid composites is higher by 14% than the non-hybrid 40 wt.% fine rGF. Scanning electron microscopy shows good fibre/resin adhesion for MMT below 3 wt.%. While at 5 wt.% MMT, the UP resin becomes degraded and developed poor adhesion of resin to the recyclate fibres.
Highlights
The purpose of this study is to study the effects of montmorillonite (MMT) nanofiller on the mechanical properties of glass fibre recyclates reinforced unsaturated polyester (UP) composites
The relatively low aspect ratio of powder means it does not have the potential to be reused as reinforcement in composites
Coarse rGF might not provide better reinforcement compared to fine rGF because coarse rGF contains composites particles or fragments which were not properly mill during the crushing of GFRP waste
Summary
The purpose of this study is to study the effects of montmorillonite (MMT) nanofiller on the mechanical properties of glass fibre recyclates (rGF) reinforced unsaturated polyester (UP) composites. Raw rGF was sieved into coarse and fine grade to improve the tensile properties of the composites. Similar study by Kao et al (2012) showed that the recovered glass fibres by hydrolysis process only maintain half of its original tensile strength of virgin glass fibre. Bernasconi et al (2007) investigated the effects of mechanical recycling on the tensile strength of an injection moulded polyamide reinforced glass fibres composite. Clay mineral as nanofiller in polymer matrix composites, discovered by Toyota research group, were found to be promising in improving mechanical properties at low loadings of the reinforcing filler (Kaynak et al, 2009). Polymers incorporating dispersed nanofiller clay minerals promote enhanced mechanical properties (Ozkoc et al, 2008)
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