The Potential of Reformed Slag on the Mechanical and Thermal Behaviour of Toughened Unsaturated Polyester Composites

Abstract

In this study, at first we aim to reform slag which is the scrap of steel making industry. The chemical composition of this vitrified glass-like residue is very much similar to the composition of glass. The scrap material will be reformed by treatment with strong polar acids. The reformation process aims to upgrade the silica content of the glass like material (slag) by extracting the basic oxides and to change the surface charge of the slag particles. The second aim is to study the potential of which as reinforcement and thermal stabilizer for rubberized unsaturated polyester system. The positively charged particles are expected to render them accessible by the negatively charged carbonyl and the hydroxyl functional groups of the unsaturated polyester resin. The effectiveness of chemical activation was followed by energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) infrared attenuated total reflectance (ATR-IR). The potential of the reformed glass like (slag) powder as reinforcement for rubberized, unsaturated polyester resin was evaluated and compared to the sample with pristine slag. The fabricated composites were evaluated with respect to their mechanical behavior, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermogravimetric (TGA). Mechanical properties were evaluated as a function of treatment type. SEM of the fractured surfaces was evaluated as well.