Distribution Of Filler Particles Research Articles

Effect of filler surface treatment on the physico-mechanical properties of filler/styrene-butadiene rubber nanocomposites

In the present work, the effects of various filler types and content on the characteristics and properties of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) were studied. This study prepared SBR filled with different fillers: kaolin, metakaolinite, synthetic zeolite Na-A, alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles, and hybrid filler (synthetic zeolite Na-A/Al2O3). The silane coupling agent 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) was employed to treat the surface with fillers. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to determine the surface morphology. The results demonstrated that fillers improved the physicomechanical properties. Tensile strength and elongation at break (%) in composites containing synthetic zeolite Na-A increased by up to 158.6% at 3 phr and 100% at 2 phr, respectively. The results showed that the surface properties displayed by SEM analysis indicated a good distribution of filler particles. Also, the rubber compound’s resistance to organic solvents such as toluene was improved, as evidenced by swelling properties; the swelling ratio decreased by 17.5% while the crosslink density increased by 42.6% at 5 phr Al2O3/synthetic zeolite Na-A. The constants of the various hyperelastic models that explain the behavior of the composite materials under study were determined, and their predictions of the experimentally obtained stress-strain curves were compared. The study’s experimental findings will be helpful for several industrial uses, including an extender in water-based paints, rubber fillers, ceramic materials, paper fillers, and coating pigments.

Polymer Composites with Carbon Fillers Based on Coal Pitch and Petroleum Pitch Cokes: Structure, Electrical, Thermal, and Mechanical Properties.

The effect of particle size and oxidation degree of new carbon microfillers, based on coal pitch (CP) and petroleum pitch (PET) cokes, on the structure as well as thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties of the composites based on ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) was investigated. The composites studied have a segregated structure of filler particle distribution in the UHMWPE matrix. It was found that composite with smaller CP grain fraction has the highest Young's modulus and electrical conductivity compared to the other composites studied, which can be the result of a large contribution of flake-shaped particles. Additionally, conductivity of this composite turned out to be similar to composites with well-known carbon nanofillers, such as graphene, carbon black, and CNTs. Additionally, the relationship between electrical conductivity and Young's modulus values of composites studied was revealed, which indicates that electrical conductivity is very sensitive to the structure of the filler phase in the polymer matrix. In general, it was established that the properties, especially the electrical conductivity, of the composites studied strongly depends on the size, shape, and oxidative treatment of CP and PET filler particles, and that the CP coke of appropriately small particle sizes and flake shape has significant potential as a conductive filler for polymer composites.

Hot-pressed Mn-doped Pb((Zr0.3Ti0.7)0.99Mn0.01)O3/polystyrene composites with improved dielectric and energy storage performance

Polymer composite films are superb dielectrics with high energy storage performance. Accordingly, herein we fabricated thick dumbbell-shaped 0–3 composites by incorporating Pb((Zr0.3Ti0.7)0.99Mn0.01)O3 (PMZT) as filler (0 –20% by weight) into a polystyrene (PS) matrix, using a two-step, solvent-free method involving melt mixing and subsequent hot pressing. The effects of processing parameters, acceptor doping in the filler, and filler content on the thermal, dielectric, and energy storage properties of the composites were investigated. IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies confirm the successful integration of the perovskite PMZT ceramic into the PS matrix. Notably, the composite morphology displayed a uniform distribution of filler particles, devoid of voids or agglomerates, indicating effective filler reinforcement. Mn ions acting as acceptor dopants in the ceramic filler, enhance the dielectric constant of the PMZT/PS composites while significantly minimizing the dielectric loss. The hot-pressing method promotes the alignment of dipoles of the filler particles within the composites, leading to stronger polarization and enhanced overall dielectric and ferroelectric response. Remarkably, the 20 wt% PMZT/PS composite exhibits an increased maximum polarization of 0.42 µC/cm2 and an 83% energy storage efficiency, making it a promising candidate for energy storage application.

An Investigation on Filler Particle Size and Its Distribution in Glass-Epoxy Hybrid Composites Using Image Processing

Analysis of filler particle size and distribution plays a vital role in achieving a good balance of polymer composites’ electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. Such assessments help understand the relationship between microstructure and the physical nature of polymer composites reinforced with fillers. In this investigation, glass epoxy composites with different nano and micro-sized fillers, namely SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> , Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> , MoS <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> , graphite and cenosphere, are fabricated by hand-lay technique with bagging. Particle analysis is carried out by employing image processing techniques using ImageJ. To understand the nature of hybrid filler size distribution, a comprehensive assessment of the micro and nanofiller particle distribution and the average shortest and longest separation distance between the nano and micron particles is estimated. From the particle size distribution analysis, it is observed that the micron particles are more evenly distributed than nanoparticles. The average distance between micron and nanofiller particles is observed depending on the type of filler used. The microparticles tend to surround the nanoparticles, which is desirable for decreasing the free space distances between the filler particles. Also, statistical analysis is carried out to study the experimental and estimated micron and nanofiller particle sizes used in the composites.

Analisis Kandungan Silikon Karbida (SiC) Sebagai Filler Terhadap Peningkatan Kekerasan Pada Metal Matrik Komposit

Metal Matrix Composite is one of the metal composites that utilize aluminum alloy as a matrix in its fabrication. MMC has better specifications than the conventional materials it forms because it is light, ductile, with better hardness properties. The aluminum alloy as the matrix in this study has good mechanical properties but relatively low hardness values, especially type 2xxx aluminum containing Al-Cu or duralumin. By adding silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic content which acts as a filler in the manufacture of MMC it aims to increase the hardness value through a strengthening mechanism by analyzing the distribution of filler particles to the matrix. Using the sintering method with temperature variations that affect the mechanical properties of MMC. From the tests carried out the MMC specimens experienced an increase of 7.06% with the highest hardness value at 300oC sintering temperature of 71.6 HRB. With a SiC content of 14.42% Wt. Then it was observed using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) that the distribution of SiC particles experienced an even distribution and bonded to the aluminum matrix thereby reducing porosity and increasing the hardness value of the MMC material.

Digital Characteristics of Microstructure of Diamond—Silicon Carbide Composites

As an example of the implementation of digital materials science approaches based on statistical processing of electron micrographs with the analysis of fractal parameters, the digital characteristics of microstructure of diamond–silicon carbide ceramic composite material are calculated. The lacunarity parameter characterizing the non-uniform distribution of filler particles in the matrix is found. Based on lacunarity values calculated at different scales, scale invariance parameter characterizing the dependence of lacunarity on the scale is evaluated. Voronoi entropy characterizing the structure based on the quantity of information is also calculated and used to determine the average number of neighboring particles and average distance between them. For the composites with high mechanical properties, the number of nearest neighbors approaches six, indicating an almost closest packing.

The Effect of the Addition of Tuff on the Properties of Brass and Bronze

The article presents studies aimed at identifying the effect of the addition of volcanic tuff, rocks with ceramic properties, on the properties of brass and bronze, which make up the metal matrix of the composite. The research methods included: structure study (microscopic observations using an optical microscope and a scanning microscope), EDS analysis, as well as testing of composites for abrasion and microhardness. The results of the study of samples formed by tuff with brass and bronze show the stability of the structures obtained. Microscopic observations confirm that the distribution of mineral filler particles is uniform. No significant gaps were found between the filler and the matrix. The results of mechanical abrasion tests were the best and the maximum increase in hardness values was achieved with 10% addition of tuff to brass and bronze matrices

Ceramic matrix piezocomposites: method of fabrication and microstructure peculiarities

In the present work, we have developed a new method for the fabrication of piezoactive ceramic matrix composites (CMC) ceramics/ceramics. Samples of piezoactive PZT/PZT composites with a mass concentration of components from 0% to 60% have been obtained. A study of microstructural features, as well as a gravimetric analysis of CMC, has been carried out. It has been shown that the developed method for CMC manufacturing provides the formation of microhomogeneous composite structures with a uniform distribution of ceramic filler particles in a microporous piezoceramic matrix without the formation of transition regions and additional crystalline phases.

Experimental investigation of the structural features of polycarbonate (PC) filled with bismuth nitrate pentahydrate (BNP) composite films in terms of free volume defects probed by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy

The effect of bismuth nitrate pentahydrate (BNP) on the properties and microstructural features of polycarbonate (PC) has been investigated using PALT, XRD, SEM, EDX, TG, ATR-FTIR and tensile mechanical measurements. Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy reveals that the ortho-positronium lifetime and its corresponding intensity significantly decrease as the filler level of BNP in PC (in the composite) increases from 0.3 wt% up to 5.0 wt%. This is due to the increasing fraction of positrons that annihilate with the filler particles and also in the interfacial layers of the filler and the host polymer. Fourier Transform Infrared spectra show that there is no significant shift in the IR bands of the composite when compared to those of pure PC, and so there is little molecular level interaction between PC and BNP. The micrographs of SEM revealed a random distribution of filler particles in the composite, and there is the formation of agglomerates of BNP at higher filler levels. There is an increase in the degree of crystallinity of the composite films due to the addition of the crystalline filler, which was confirmed by XRD analysis. Tensile mechanical tests confirmed the improved tensile strength of prepared composites at lower and moderate filler levels, from 0.0 wt % up to 2.5 wt%. The free volume properties of the composite films are correlated with its tensile mechanical properties.

Solid Particle Erosion of Filled and Unfilled Epoxy Resin at Room and Elevated Temperatures

Solid particle erosion at room and elevated temperatures of filled and unfilled hot-cured epoxy resin using an anhydride hardener were experimentally tested using an accelerated method on a special bench. Micro-sized dispersed industrial wastes were used as fillers: fly ash from a power plant and spent filling material from a copper mining and processing plant. The results showed that the wear of unfilled epoxy resin significantly decreases with increasing temperature, while the dependence on the temperature of the wear intensity at an impingement angle of 45° is linear and inversely proportional, and at an angle of 90°, non-linear. The decrease in wear intensity is probably due to an increase in the fracture limit because of heating. Solid particle erosion of the filled epoxy compounds is considerably higher than that of unfilled compounds at impingement angles of 45° and 90°. Filled compounds showed ambiguous dependences of the intensity of wear on temperature (especially at an impingement angle of 45°), probably as the dependence is defined by the filler share and the structural features of the samples caused by the distribution of filler particles. The intensity of the wear of the compounds at impingement angles of 45° and 90° has a direct and strong correlation with the density and the modulus of elasticity, and a weak correlation with the bending strength of the materials. The data set for determining the correlation between the mechanical properties and the wear included compound filling characteristics and temperature.

Using Copper-Doped Mesoporous Bioactive Glass Nanospheres to Impart Anti-Bacterial Properties to Dental Composites.

Experimental dental resin composites containing copper-doped mesoporous bioactive glass nanospheres (Cu-MBGN) were developed to impart anti-bacterial properties. Increasing amounts of Cu-MBGN (0, 1, 5 and 10 wt%) were added to the BisGMA/TEGDMA resin matrix containing micro- and nano-fillers of inert glass, keeping the resin/filler ratio constant. Surface micromorphology and elemental analysis were performed to evaluate the homogeneous distribution of filler particles. The study investigated the effects of Cu-MBGN on the degree of conversion, polymerization shrinkage, porosity, ion release and anti-bacterial activity on S. mutans and A. naeslundii. Experimental materials containing Cu-MBGN showed a dose-dependent Cu release with an initial burst and a further increase after 28 days. The composite containing 10% Cu-MBGN had the best anti-bacterial effect on S. mutans, as evidenced by the lowest adherence of free-floating bacteria and biofilm formation. In contrast, the 45S5-containing materials had the highest S. mutans adherence. Ca release was highest in the bioactive control containing 15% 45S5, which correlated with the highest number of open porosities on the surface. Polymerization shrinkage was similar for all tested materials, ranging from 3.8 to 4.2%, while the degree of conversion was lower for Cu-MBGN materials. Cu-MBGN composites showed better anti-bacterial properties than composites with 45S5 BG.

Polymer Grafted Nanoparticle Composites with Enhanced Thermal and Mechanical Properties.

The distribution of filler particles within a polymer matrix nanocomposite has a profound influence on the properties and processability of the material. While filler aggregation and percolation can significantly enhance particular functionalities such as thermal and electrical conductivity, the formation of larger filler clusters and networks can also impair mechanical properties like strength and toughness and can also increase the difficulty of processing. Here, a strategy is presented for the preparation of functional composites that enhance thermal conductivity over polymer alone, without negatively affecting mechanical performance or processability. Thermal cross-linking of self-suspended polymer grafted nanoparticles is used to prepare highly filled (>50 vol %) macroscopic nanocomposites with homogeneously dispersed, non-percolating alumina particles in an organic matrix. The initial composites use low glass transition temperature polymer grafts and thus are flexible and easily shaped by thermoforming methods. However, after thermal aging, the resulting materials display high stiffness (>10 GPa) and enhanced thermal conductivity (>100% increase) and also possess mechanical strength similar to commodity plastics. Moreover, the covalent bonding between matrix and filler allows for the significant elevation of thermal conductivity despite the extensive interfacial area in the nanocomposite. The thermal aging of polymer grafted nanoparticles is therefore a promising method for producing easily processable, mechanically sturdy, and macroscopic nanocomposites with improved thermal conductivity.

РОЗРОБЛЕННЯ ПРОГРАМНОГО ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ДЛЯ ОЦІНЮВАННЯ ОДНОРІДНОСТІ РОЗПОДІЛУ НАПОВНЮВАЧА В ПОЛІМЕРНІЙ МАТРИЦІ

Purpose. Creation of software for evaluating the uniformity of distribution of the filler in a polyethylene matrix.Methodology. Software development was carried out using the Python programming language and libraries: PIL, Numpy, Matplotlib, Xlsxwriter. The suitability of the developed software for use was determined by verifying it. During this verification, polyethylene compositions filled with colloidal graphite in the form of compressed films were evaluated. To obtain these compositions, we chose P6006AD grade polyethylene and C-1 colloidal graphite. Samples of polyethylene compositions were obtained in two stages: 1) obtaining a strand by extrusion; 2) additional mixing of the composition on a disc mixer and pressing the obtained compositions into a film.Findings. The software has been developed to assess the uniformity of the distribution of the filler in the polyethylene matrix. The data were established on the dependence of the coefficient of heterogeneity of polyethylene compositions on the content of colloidal graphite with use of the developed software. The increase in the content of the filler leads to a decrease in its heterogeneity. It is shown that this effect can be explained by the structuring of the filler in the polyethylene matrix. Despite the formation of aggregates in polyethylene compositions, a significant amount of small colloidal particles of graphite is located between the aggregate space. This leads to a certain leveling of the concentration in the film and reduces its inhomogeneity.Scientific novelty. The influence of the content of colloidal graphite on the homogeneity of polyethylene compositions is determined. It is shown that with an increase in the graphite content from 0 to 20% vol. the coefficient of heterogeneity of the composition decreases from 5.3% to 3.9%, which is due to the structuring of the filler in the polyethylene matrix.Practical value. Software that makes it possible to evaluate the uniformity of the distribution of filler particles in a polymer matrix, and can be used to study the quality of mixing of polymer composite materials has been developed.

Determining the effect of dispersed aluminum particles on the functional properties of polymeric composites based on polyvinylidene fluoride

Polymeric materials that contain inorganic fillers demonstrate a unique set of physical properties due to the combination of matrix elasticity and filler strength. This paper reports determining the effect of dispersed aluminum particles on the properties of polyvinylidene fluoride-based materials. This study result is the fabrication of a series of composite materials using a piston extruder. Their functional characteristics have been explored using the methods of thermophysical and mechanical analysis, dilatometry, and acoustic spectroscopy. It was established that the introduction of dispersed aluminum particles leads to the loosening of the matrix, which may indicate the transition of macro macromolecules from the crystalline phase to the boundary layer around the filler. This feature of structure formation and the uniform distribution of filler particles ensured the improvement of the functional characteristics of the materials obtained. It has been shown that with an increase in the content of filler in the system to 5 % the thermal conductivity increases from 0.17 W/(m·K) to 1.55 W/(m·K). The introduction of the filler leads to an improvement in the heat resistance of the materials obtained, by 17 K. The increase in both melting point and destructiveness is explained by the formation of a more perfect polymer structure with a higher degree of crystallinity. An increase in the speed of ultrasound propagation was identified, by 67 %, as well as in the tensile strength, by 36 %, in the materials obtained, which can be explained by contributions from the filler, which has greater sound conductivity and mechanical strength than the polymer matrix. Such systems show the reinforcing effect of aluminum particles on the polymer matrix, so they could be used as structural materials with improved functional characteristics

The influence of vibration on sedimentation stability of polymer composite materials

The work is devoted to the study of the effect of vibration on the creation of a gradient layer in cast polymer composite materials. The influence of vibration frequency and vibration exposure time on the distribution of filler particles in a polymer matrix has been studied. The presented results can be used in the manufacture of cast parts for the needs of mechanical engineering from polymer composite materials with an increased content of particles of the dispersed phase.

Анализ структуры композиционных систем с использованием фрактальных характеристик на примере системы BaTiO-=SUB=-3-=/SUB=--фуллеренол-ЦЭПС

An approach to the study of the relationship between the composition, structure and properties of composites is suggested on the basis of statistical analysis of the distribution of structural elements of the composite between its cross-section fragments and determination of fractal parameters as quantitative characteristics of the material structure. The prospects of this approach are demonstrated on the example of analyzing the microstructure of composites based on cyanoethyl ester of polyvinyl alcohol (CEPVA) with a ferroelectric filler barium titanate (BaTiO3), modified by the precipitation of fullerenol C60(OH)42. The filler modification is shown to result in a decrease of the span and standard deviation of the number of particles between the fragments of the composite, increase in the average number of particles in the fragments, a decrease in the lacunarity of filling the polymer matrix with the filler particles, and increase in the intensity of all the lattice density distribution maxima and correlation radii starting from the second maximum. The obtained results indicate a significant improvement of the filler particles distribution uniformity in the binder and prevention of their agglomeration, thus providing an increase in the permittivity of the composites by an order of magnitude and making the studied materials promising for the application in electronic devices.

Styrene butadiene rubber and barium hexaferrite based flexible elastomer –inorganic dielectric systems

Flexible organic–inorganic composites of Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR)/Barium hexaferrite (BHF, BaFe 12 O 19 ) have been prepared with different weight percentages (0 phr, 2.5phr, 5phr, 10phr) by solution casting method. The BHF was first prepared by sol–gel auto combustion method by using 'urea and ethylene glycol. The phase quantification and structural analysis were carried out through the Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction of synthesized BHF particles with MAUD software having a low sig value. After the confirmation of the BHF structure, the SBR/BHF polymer composites of different phr were synthesized. And all these composites were thoroughly characterized by using different techniques. The uniform distribution of filler particles in the SBR polymer matrix is confirmed by the X-ray diffraction pattern. The homogeneous distribution of filler in the SBR polymer matrix at different phr was confirmed by SEM study. The influence of filler loading (0–10 phr), frequency (1 kHz-1 MHz), and temperature (25 °C-100 °C) on the electrical and dielectric properties of polymer ceramic composite was studied. The magnitude of capacitance and the resistance were calculated from the simulation of the Nyquist plot with an equivalent circuit.

Modelling and optimisation of hardness behaviour of sintered Al/SiC composites using RSM and ANN: a comparative study

In present work, Aluminium matrix composites reinforced with x wt.% SiC (x=5, 7.5 and 10) microparticles were synthesised by powder metallurgy route. The microhardness (VHN) of the Al/SiC composites were investigated using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) approach. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Elemental mapping and Optical microscopy were done for the microstructural investigations. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was done for received powders and composites samples for phase recognition and existence of reinforcement particles (SiC) in the synthesised sintered composites. The design of experiments based on RSM was utilised following the central composite design method. Empirical models have been developed by considering variance analysis (ANOVA), to establish relationships among the control factors and the response variables. A feed-forward back-propagation neural network (FF-BPNN) was used to determine the qualitative characteristics of the process, and the accuracy of the BPNN system was attributed with mathematical models based on RSM model. The ANN model predicted surface hardness values are near the experimental findings. It is established that the developed models can be used to predict the hardness of the surface within the investigation range. The composite with reinforcement 7.5% revealed higher sintered density and Vickers microhardness due to the uniform distribution of filler particles in the Al matrix featuring no pores. The results indicate overall higher accuracy in the ANN method than RSM model.

Evaporation-driven self-assembly of binary and ternary colloidal polymer nanocomposites for abrasion resistant applications

We harness the self-assembly of aqueous binary latex/silica particle blends during drying to fabricate films segregated by size in the vertical direction. We report for the first time the experimental drying of ternary colloidal dispersions and demonstrate how a ternary film containing additional small latex particles results in improved surface stability and abrasion resistance compared with a binary film. Through atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), we show that the vertical distribution of filler particles and the surface morphologies of the films can be controlled by altering the evaporation rate and silica volume fraction. We report the formation of various silica superstructures at the film surface, which we attribute to a combination of diffusiophoresis and electrostatic interactions between particles. Brownian dynamics simulations of the final stages of solvent evaporation provide further evidence for this formation mechanism. We show how an additional small latex particle population results in an increased abrasion resistance of the film without altering its morphology or hardness. Our work provides a method to produce water-based coatings with enhanced abrasion resistance as well as valuable insights into the mechanisms behind the formation of colloidal superstructures.

Conductivity of Insulating Diblock Copolymer System Filled with Conductive Particles Having Different Affinities for Dissimilar Copolymer Blocks.

We investigate the electrical response of the insulating diblock copolymer system (DBC) filled with conductive spherical fillers depending on the affinities of these fillers for copolymer blocks and the interaction between fillers. We demonstrate that the contrast (difference) between the affinities of the fillers for dissimilar copolymer blocks is a decisive factor that determines the distribution of these fillers in the DBC system. The distribution of filler particles, in turn, is found to be directly related to the electrical response of the DBC-particle composite. In particular, increasing the affinity contrast above a certain threshold value results in the insulator-conductor transition. This transition is found to be caused by the preferential localization of the fillers in the microphases of the DBC system having larger affinity for these fillers. The effect of the interaction between fillers is found to be secondary to the described effect of the affinity contrast that dominates in determining the distribution of fillers in the composite. This effect of the inter-particle interactions is shown to be significant only when the affinity contrast and filler volume fraction are sufficiently large.