Simulation and mechanical characterization on kevlar epoxy reinforced composite with silicon carbide filler

Abstract

In modern manufacturing sector, the para-aramid (Kevlar) composite material evolves as an alternative to metallurgical alloy products due to appreciable raise of tensile and flexural strength with wear resistance. In this paper, Kevlar epoxy sample is prepared with three different micro scale weight percentages of (2%, 4%, 6%) silicon carbide (SiC) using hand lay-up technique. In this investigation, for each weight percentages (wt %) of SiC a comparison on experimental validation is made for three samples to reinforce with Kevlar epoxy to identity the significant change in mechanical properties. The three variations of Silicon Carbide constituents with Kevlar reinforced epoxy composites are experimentally tested and compared with mathematical and simulation analysis for identification of enhanced mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural strength. A better correspondence has been obtained between results drawn from mathematical, Autodesk fussion simulation and experimental approaches. The improvement in tensile strength up to 298.22 Mpa and flexural strength of 232.39 MPa with the addition of 6% weight percentage of Silicon Carbide in Kevlar fibre reinforced epoxy composite in experimental testing to explore uniqueness and achieved better results.