Toughening of Glass Fiber Reinforced Unsaturated Polyester Composites by Core-Shell Particles

Abstract

This study focused on the examination of unsaturated polyester resin based continuous glass filament mat reinforced composites (GFRP) and the modification by core-shell rubber particles (CSR). The goal was to evaluate the effect of CSR toughening on processability, mechanical properties and impact strength as well as the interaction with inorganic color particles in the submicron range on the GFRP. The interlaminar fracture toughness GIc of the modified GFRP was improved by about 20% compared to the neat GFRP by using only 2 wt-% of the CSR modifier, while only marginally increasing the viscosity of the reactive mixture. The responsible mechanisms were found to be local shear yielding of the matrix and an improved fiber-matrix adhesion. The hybridization of inorganic color particles and CSR reduced the interlaminar fracture toughness of the laminate, which could be ascribed to the formation of pores due to the introduction of the oxide particles. However, the impact behavior of the GFRP was positively affected.