Nanoclay Weight Research Articles

Tensile, flexural and fatigue properties of different thermoplastic nanocomposites: experimental investigation and ANN prediction of the fatigue life

ABSTRACT Polymer-based nanocomposites have received immense attention in industrial applications as their mechanical properties are superior to traditional polymer composites. In this study, three different thermoplastic polymers, namely (a) polypropylene (PP), (b) acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and (c) high-density polyethylene (HDPE) were used for the purpose of engineering different nanoclay-based nanocomposites. The blending of the polymer was performed by varying the nanoclay weight percentage (0.5, 1, 3, and 5 wt.%) using a twin-screw extruder. The different nanocomposites were fabricated through injection moulding process. The composites were fabricated by considering the 90 bars of injection pressure, 60 mm/s of injection speed, and 25 sec of cooling time. The effect of nanoclay inclusion on the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites was evaluated and compared with the neat polymer. The effect of nanoclay inclusion was studied through morphological analysis of the fractured tested specimens. The tensile strength and modulus of ABS-nanoclay (5%) exhibited an enhancement of 30.95% and 35%, respectively as compared to the pure ABS. Meanwhile, the fatigue life revealed an improvement of 66.01%. The tensile strength and modulus of the ABS/nanoclay (5%) were achieved as 38.6 MPa and 1.44 GPa.

Insights into the thermomechanical and interfacial behaviors of polymer‐clay nanocomposites via coarse‐grained molecular dynamics simulations

AbstractPolymer‐clay nanocomposites (PCNs) are commonly applied as multi‐functional structural materials with exceptional thermomechanical properties, while maintaining the characteristics of lightweight and optical clarity. In this study, building upon previously developed coarse‐grained (CG) models for nanoclay and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), we employ molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to systematically investigate the thermomechanical properties of PCNs when arranged in stacked configurations. Incorporating stacked clay nanofillers into a polymer matrix, we systematically conduct shear and tensile simulations to investigate the influences of variations in weight percentage, system temperature, and nanoclay size on the thermomechanical properties of PCNs at a fundamental level. The weight percentage of nanoclay in nanocomposites proves to have a significant influence on both the shear and Young's modulus (e.g., the addition of 10 Wt% nanoclay leads to an increase of 32.6% in the Young's modulus), with each exhibiting greater mechanical strength in the in‐plane direction compared to the out‐of‐plane direction, and the disparity between these two directions further widens with an increase in the weight percentage of nanoclay. Furthermore, the increase in the size of nanoclay contributes to an overall modulus enhancement in the composite while the growth reaches a saturation point after a certain threshold of about 10 nm. Our simulation results indicate that the overall dynamics of PMMA are suppressed due to the strong interactions between nanoclay and PMMA, where the confinement effect on local segmental dynamics of PMMA decays from the nanoclay‐polymer interface to the polymer matrix. Our findings provide valuable molecular‐level insights into microstructural and dynamical features of PCNs under deformation, emphasizing the pivotal role of clay‐polymer interface in influencing the thermomechanical properties of the composite materials.Highlights CG modeling is performed to explore the thermomechanical behavior of PCN. Effects of nanoclay weight percentage and size on modulus are studied. Interface leads to nanoconfinement effect on Tg and molecular stiffness. Correlations between molecular stiffness and modulus are identified. Simulations show spatial variation of dynamical heterogeneity.

Effect of weight of Nanoclay on Tensile, Flexure and Toughness properties of Glass Epoxy composites

In recent times, polymer composites have played an epochal role in transforming material science. Some of their properties such as toughness, strength, flexibility, and rigidity have helped them supplant conventional materials such as iron, steel, and aluminium on several occasions. Apart from this, they are light in weight and more cost-efficient, which make them a viable alternative. They have found their application in several fields such as automobile industry, aerospace industry, construction, and pipeline industry. The present investigation uses composite material fabricated with varying weight percentages of Nano clay viz 1.5, 3.5, and 5 which are compared with Neat Glass Epoxy composite. The reinforcement material used is Glass fibre. Three different orientations viz unidirectional, Symmetric and Asymmetric of the laminate are considered. The fabricated composite is characterized for various mechanical properties like tensile test, flexure, and Fracture toughness testing as per ASTM standards. The addition of Nano Clay showed the improvement in the Tensile, Flexure and Fracture Toughness of the for 3.5 wt% of Nanoclay. The properties under tensile loading i.e. the tensile strength is increased by 12% for Unidirectional laminate, flexure strength increased by 20% for Unidirectional laminate and 20% for Unidirectional laminate fracture Toughness.after 3.5 wt%, there seemed to be a decline in both the properties. The morphological assessment was done by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) where the microstructure was analyzed. The SEM images were used to study the activity of the Nanoclay within the fabricated composite. The overall test results suggested that the fiber reinforced nanoclay composites can fit for industrial applications like condenser blades and turbine blades.

Statistical and Artificial Neural Network Coupled Technique for Prediction of Tribo-Performance in Amine-Cured Bio-Based Epoxy/MMT Nanocomposites

This study explores the effects of four independent variables—the nanoclay weight percentage, sliding velocity, load, and sliding distance—on the wear rate and frictional force of nanoclay-filled FormuLITETM amine-cured bio-based epoxy composites. An experimental design based on the Taguchi method revealed diverging optimal conditions for minimizing the wear and frictional force. These observations were further validated using a Back-propagation Artificial Neural Network (BPANN) model, demonstrating its proficiency in predicting complex system behavior. Material characterization, conducted through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), illustrated the homogeneous distribution of the nanoclay within the FormuliteTM matrix, which is crucial for enhancing the load transfer and stress distribution. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) analysis indicated that the incorporation of nanoclay increases the surface roughness and peak height, which are important determinants of the material performance. However, an increase in the nanoclay percentage decreased these attributes, suggesting an interaction saturation point. Due to their augmented mechanical properties, the present study underscores the potential of amine-cured bio-based epoxy systems in diverse applications, such as automotive, aerospace, and biomedical engineering.

Durability analysis on properties of water soaked PNNCs and CS-ANN model for wear property analysis of PNNCs

The work aims to prepare and characterize polyester nanoclay nanocomposite (PNNCs) with various nanoclay weight percentages (0, 2, and 4). Nanoclay and polyester resin are blended using a mechanical stirrer followed by a sonicator. The blend is molded as specimens as per ASTM standards. The addition of nanoclay improved tensile strength by 12% to 16% and flexural strength by 4% to 10%. After 60 days of soaking in, the tensile strength retention rate of pure PE, 2PNNC, and 4PNNC are 84.9%, 89.8%, and 90.6%, respectively. At the same time, flexural strength retention rates of pure PE, 2PNNC, and 4PNNC are 86.7%, 90.2%, and 91.9%, respectively. SEM images are analyzed to know the reasons for specimen failure under tensile load. ExpDec1 (“One-phase exponential decay function with time constant parameter”) model is used on the experimental data to determine the composite’s durability. The experimental values and data produced by the ExpDec1 model are relatively close to one another. In all specimens, the error percentage of experimental and predicted values during 80 and 100 days of water soaking varies very little (less than 1%). The study proposes CS-ANN (Cuckoo Search-Artificial Neural Network) architecture to predict mass loss. Test results prove that the CS-ANN predicted values are much closer to the experimental results. Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CSA) is used along with the ANN model to optimize and fine-tune the hyperparameters according to the data. The loss curves substantially prove the proposed model to be the best fit for the experimental data.

Study of matrix modifications by nano-clay on the mechanical properties of AA3003 honeycomb sandwich panels

Face/core debonding is one of the crucial problems of composite sandwich panels which consist of AA3003 aluminium honeycomb and glass fiber reinforced polymer face sheets. The panel was prepared by a hand-lay process at different nano-clay weight addition of 0%, 2%, 4%, and 6% with the objective of improving face/core adhesion. Interface bonding between face sheets and honeycomb core composite sandwiches and their mechanical behavior were investigated under in-plane compression and bending load. The flexural property of sandwich panels due to the influence of variation in strain rate is further determined. The morphologies of fractured samples were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results revealed a significant improvement in mechanical characteristics when nano-clay was loaded to the composites at a concentration from 2 to 4 wt%, and the in-plane compression and flexural failure load values increased by 45% and 81%, respectively, when compared to a pristine sample. It was observed that increasing strain rate led to the increase in failure load of the sandwich panel. SEM images of fractured surfaces showed residual aluminium honeycomb was present in the face sheet, which indicates better adhesion between aluminium honeycomb core and face sheets.

Assessment of mechanical properties of nanoclay embedded GFRP composites

In this study, GFRP composite with variable nanoclay weight percentages (0, 1.25, 2.50, and 3.75) were fabricated by using the hand lay-up approach. The effect of the wt% of nanoclay on mechanical characteristics, including tensile strength, flexural strength, and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) was examined. The results showed that increasing the nanoclay content significantly improved the manufactured GFRP composite's mechanical characteristics. The optimum mechanical characteristics of manufactured composites were found at a nanoclay content of 2.50 wt%. Increased nanoclay wt% up to 2.50, tensile strength enhanced from 388.41 to 443.56 MPa, flexural strength enhanced from 424 to 648 MPa, and ILSS enhanced from 21.14 to 26.25 MPa.

Tensile and flexural characteristics of an epoxy-glass composite reinforced with Cloisite 15A nanoclay

Nanoclay weight percent, glass fiber volume percent and angle of orientation of fibers were selected as parameters to study their effect on tensile and flexural characteristics of epoxy-glass-clay nanocomposites (EGCNs). Response surface method (RSM) was utilized to analyze and fit a regression model for the tensile and flexural strength. The optimum values of ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and flexural strength (σf) were 273.47 and 210.14 MPa, respectively, which were predicted using regression models at 2.5% (by wt) of nanoclay, 31.5% (by vol) of glass fiber and 0°/90° of fibers orientation. The predicted results were confirmed by performing experiments at the optimum conditions which were obtained as 262.37 and 214.76 MPa. The optimized result showed that UTS and σf were improved up to 30.8% and 36.3% compared to the composite containing 0% (by wt) of nanoclay, 31.5% (by vol) of glass fiber and 0°/90° of fibers orientation. The optimum values of tensile and flexural modulus were obtained as 25.99 and 11.81 GPa, respectively, which were 12.2% and 10.7% higher compared to those values of EGCN containing 0% (by wt) of nanoclay, 31.5% (by vol) of glass fiber and 0°/90° of fibers orientation. XRD test conducted to check the intercalation/exfoliation of the clay in the composite. The fracture surfaces of the EGCNs investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the failure occurred by crack propagation in the matrix followed by fiber breakage with little fiber-matrix debonding, whereas in case of EGCN with 0% (by wt) C15A fiber-matrix debonding followed by fiber breakage was observed.

Studying Effect of Modifying Nano-Mineral Adsorbents on Efficiency of Dye Removal from Industrial Effluents

In this research work, the potential capability of nano-clay and tonsil, as low-cost and domestic adsorbents, for the elimination of a cationic dye, (CR18) from contaminated water is investigated. The surface properties of the adsorbents are studied by means of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction techniques. The effects of the initial dye concentration, pH, stirring speed, contact time, and adsorbent dosage are investigated at 25 . The results obtained show that the dye adsorption data from the nano-clay and tonsil experiments fit well to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, respectively. The results of dye adsorption kinetics demonstrate that the adsorption system follows a pseudo-second-order model with a satisfactory correlation value (R=99%).The adsorption thermodynamics is also studied, concluding that the adsorption process is spontaneous and physically controlled. Under the optimum conditions (pH of 7, stirring speed of 200 rpm, CR18 concentration of 30 ppm and contact time of 30 min), the adsorption capacities of the mixed adsorbents show the maximum adsorption efficiency at the tonsil:nano-clay weight ratio of 1:2.

Study on the Morphology and Fiber Properties of Nanoclay Added Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Nanofibrous Mats: Effect of Mechanical Dispersion

In this study, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer and Cloisite 15A, a modified form of organo Montmorillonite nanoclay, are used to produce nanofibrous mats via electrospinning technique. Pure PVA nanofibrous mats from mechanically stirred polymeric solutions at 8, 10 and 12 wt % PVA percents; and nanoclay added PVA nanofibrous mat samples are produced at increased nanoclay weight/ polymer weight ratios (1/13, 1/11, 1/9 and 1/6) using several mechanically stirred nanoclay-PVA solutions at various proportions of nanoclay and PVA polymer wt % in solutions. The viscosities, surface tensions and electrical conductivities of solutions were measured. FESEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy) analysis, fiber diameter distribution with Image J software analysis and tensile testing was applied to nanofibrous samples. Increased polymer concentration led to bead-free nanofibrous PVA mats. EDX analysis approved nanoclay is present in samples produced from nanoclay added PVA solutions. Mechanical stirring for nanoclay dispersion enabled smooth nanofibrous structures only in low (1/13) nanoclay weight/ polymer weight ratios and showed very little tensile increase from 1 wt % clay loading to 2 wt % addition. A direct increase in tensile strength wasn’t achieved with nanoclay content increase in PVA nanofibrous mats; this might be due to the effect of poor nanoclay distribution adversely affecting tensile results. Morphological analysis proved that nanofibrous structures were far away from smooth fiber structures as they transformed from smooth nanofibers into non-uniform fibrous structures at increased nanoclay weight/ polymer weight ratios in nanoclay added PVA samples. Keywords: nanofibrous mat, electrospinning, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), nanoclay, mechanical dispersion DOI : 10.7176/CPER/62-08 Publication date: May 30 th 2020

Vibration – Impact study on AlMg4.5Mn reinforced nanoclay composites

This study shows the vibration and low velocity impact behaviour of AlMg4.5Mn reinforced nanoclay nanocomposites at room temperature. Composite samples with different weight percentage of nanoclay were fabricated using liquid state synthesis casting technique, to achieve homogeneous dispersion of Nanoclay. The material characterization was studied by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). From the study it was concluded that the Hardness value of the aluminium alloy reinforced nanoclay was increased in addition of nanoclay weight percentage. The natural frequencies of impacted AlMg4.5Mn reinforced nanoclay composites was found to be increased in addition of 2.5 wt% nanoclay.

Fabrication of PVA/Nanoclay Hydrogel Nanocomposites and Their Microstructural Effect on the Release Behavior of a Potassium Phosphate Fertilizer

Various PVA/nanoclay hydrogel nanocomposites with different weight fractions of nanoclay (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1) were prepared, characterized and their performances were investigated. The structures of the synthesized hydrogel nanocomposites and the samples loaded with a potassium phosphate fertilizer were proved by FTIR spectroscopy method. The interactions between the hydrogels and nanoclay and also the effect of fertilizer loading capacity on the nanocomposites were investigated using TGA method. TGA showed that the loading of the fertilizer decreased the hydrogel weight loss which was affected by the nanoclay weight percent. In addition, the effects of glutaraldehyde as crosslinking agent and incorporation of the nanoclay and fertilizer on the glass transition temperature of the prepared hydrogels were studied using DSC method. The Tg of the hydrogels increased by adding the nanoclay and decreased with the loading of the fertilizer. The SEM images showed that the microstructure and morphology of the hydrogel changed in the presence of the nanoclay and fertilizer. The increase of the nanoclay decreased the porosity of the hydrogel and made it denser. Furthermore, the EDX spectroscopy images of the samples proved the uniform dispersion of the fertilizer and nanoclay in the prepared hybrid hydrogels. The swelling of the hydrogels decreased with increasing of the nanoclay weight percent. The results showed that the swelling under load was the highest for the hydrogel nanocomposite with 0.5 wt% of the nanoclay. The increase of the nanoclay led to increasing of the physical networking that caused more desirable controlled release of the fertilizer.

Enhancement in the mechanical property of NBR/PVC nanocomposite by using sulfur and electron beam curing in the presence of Cloisite 30B nanoclay

Blends of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) with polyvinylchloride (PVC) form thermoplastic elastomers that are miscible in all compositions. NBR-PVC elastomers are used in many industries such as cable sheathing, flexible films and food industry. Cross-linking of polymer fibers through electron bombardment is a safe and environment friendly way because it does not require the use of any chemical substance such as accelerator, activator and sulfur. In this study, the properties of NBR-PVC blend in the presence (3, 5 and 8 weight percent) and absence of Cloisite30B nanoclay with sulfur and electron beam (irradiation doses of 0, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 kGy) curing are studied with clear rate 70/30 by melt blending in an internal mixer. The stress at 100, 200 and 300% elongation at break is studied for the evaluation of tensile strength and mechanical properties. The results showed that the nanocomposite containing 8% by weight of nanoclay cured with the electron beam with 100 kGy dose has the most desirable properties which demonstrate not only good distribution of nanoclay in the polymer matrix but also excellent polymer matrix with nanoclay plates, compared with samples cured with sulfur.

Reduction of AWJ Induced Delaminations by Impregnated Nanoclay GFRP Composites

Composite materials are extensively used in various applications like space, aircraft, and automobile sector because of superior physical and mechanical properties even though they are costly. In recent technological innovations, using Montmorillonite (Nanoclay) to reinforce polymer-based composites has raised attention to academic and industrial sectors since small addition could enhance Mechanical properties thereby decreasing failures like delaminations. In present research work, the effect of AWJ machining parameters on delaminations of glass fibre reinforced epoxy composite is investigated. The Main objective is determining delamination factor and reduce delaminations which is major failure in laminates. This paper investigates on effects of impregnated Nanoclay epoxy in Bi-directional GFRP where previous research has been made only in changing the parameters for reduction of delaminations. The samples were machined using AWJ, delamination factors are measured using image-J software and SEM analysis for comparing micrographs. Finally with increase in nano clay weight fraction, delaminations are checked.

Vibration Study on Aluminium Alloy 5083 Composite Reinforced with Montmorillonite

In this work, vibration behaviour of aluminium alloy 5083-reinforced nanoclay–montmorillonite nanocomposites was studied to have a better dynamic property for lightweight structural applications without affecting the mechanical property. Composite samples with various weight percentages of nanoclay were fabricated using stir casting method and achieved uniform dispersion with strong interfacial bonding between matrix and reinforcement. The influence of nanoclay in the aluminium alloy composite was also studied by different material characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and microhardness test. From the study, it was concluded that the microhardness value of the aluminium alloy-reinforced nanoclay was decreased with the increase in nanoclay weight percentage. The mechanisms related to the shifting of frequencies were studied to know the effectiveness of reinforcement. The natural frequencies of the aluminium alloy 5083-reinforced nanoclay composites were found to be increased with the addition of 2 wt% of nanoclay in comparison with AA 5083 and 1 wt% of nanoclay.

Comprehensive Investigation of Morphological Properties of ABS/Nanoclay/PMMA Polymeric Nanocomposite Foam

The effect of process parameters of foam injection molding on the morphologicalproperties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)-nanoclay polymeric foam has been investigated. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was used as the compatibilizer between polymeric matrix and nanoclay. Different nanocomposite polymeric foam samples were produced in a chemical foam injection molding process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) test was carried out to analyze the dispersion of nanoclays with different percentages in the polymeric matrix and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) pictures were used to study the cellular structure of nanocomposite foamed samples. The effect of input parameters including nanoclay weight percentage (0, 2, and 4%), Injection Pressure (110, 125, and 140 MPa), and Holding pressure (110, 125, and 140 MPa) on cell density, cell size and expansion ratio of foamed samples have been investigated. Taguchi approach was used for the design of experiments and statistical analysis of results. Based on the results, 2 wt % of nanoclay and injection and holding pressures of 140 MPa is beneficial in order to have polymeric foam with small cell size. On the other hand, to achieve foams with higher cell density, 2 wt % of nanoclay, injection pressure of 140 MPa, and holding pressure of 110 MPa should be used.

Thermal and mechanical optimization of nano-foams for sprayed insulation

This study investigates the effects of the addition of two different types of particles on morphological, thermo-hygrometric and mechanical properties of thermal insulating sprayed polyurethane foams. Platelet nanoclay and spherical silicon dioxide microparticles were poured into two different foams with a density of 15 Kg/m3 and 30 Kg/m3, respectively used for cavity walls infill and external insulation layers.Nanoclay particles were dispersed into the polyol through a sonication technique followed by a mechanical mixing into the isocyanate, whereas silica dioxide microparticles (aerogel) were mixed mechanically into the polyol then added to isocyanate.Results showed that the introduction of small amounts (2% and 4% in weight) of nanoparticles and microparticles significantly enhances both thermal and mechanical properties of the foams.Among the low-density foams, the best thermal performance was recorded by 4 wt% nanoclay sample with a reduction of the conductance of about 9% whereas the best mechanical performance was recorded by 4 wt% aerogel sample with an increase of the tensile modulus of about 300%. However even the 4wt% nanoclay addition significantly enhanced the outcomes of the mechanical tests. Also among the high-density foams, the best thermal and mechanical compromise was achieved by the one containing 4% in weight of nanoclay, that showed a reduction of the conductance of about 7% and an increase of the tensile modulus of about 180%. This latter sample resulted to be the most performing among all the foams.

Experimental investigation of mechanical and machining parameters of hybrid nanoclay glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites

In this work, the effect of nanoclay addition to glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites is studied. The pristine glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites (i.e., staking sequence, kind of fabric used, etc.) and hybrid nanoclay in varying weight fraction (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wt%) and glass fiber-reinforced polyester composite is prepared by vacuum-assisted resin infusion technique. Fracture toughness studies are done to analyze the critical stress intensity factor and critical strain energy release rate. The optimum mechanical properties are obtained for hybrid nanoclay glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites with clay content of 3 wt%. This paper also deals with the study of optimizing the cutting parameters (Cutting speed and feed rate) to obtain maximum mechanical properties in hybrid nanoclay glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites during drilling process. It has been found that the torque is unaffected with increase in cutting speed. On contrast with increase in feed and nanoclay weight fraction, the torque increases. The drilled samples are further subjected to mechanical testing. Tensile studies confirms that better mechanical properties are obtained for optimum machining parameter of (0.045 mm/rev, 210 rpm) for 3 wt% nanoclay and glass fiber-reinforced polyester nanocomposites. The hybrid clay and glass fiber-reinforced nanocomposites generally posses better mechanical properties compared with pristine glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites.

Effect of Nano Clay inclusions on Mechanical Properties of Thermoplastics

The polymer has been widely used nowadays in many fields. Their properties make them useful in many engineering applications. Owing to their poor mechanical properties in engineering applications are seldom found. Hence, in the present study, it is aimed to enhance the mechanical properties of thermoplastics to enable their usage in engineering applications such as automotive bumpers, gears, etc. Recently many researchers tried to improve the mechanical properties of polymers using Nano clay inclusions. In the present study polypropylene (PP), Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) thermoplastics polymers are considered. Nano clay included polymer composites are fabricated with an intention to enhance their mechanical properties. Often these materials are subjected to various testing procedures and mechanical properties of these composites are to be studied. Hence, in the present work PP, ABS and HDPE Nano clay composites are fabricated using twin-screw extruders for blending Nano clay in different percentages to study the effect of Nano clay weight fraction on these properties. Samples fabricated using injection molding process. The samples are fabricated at different weight percentages of nanoclay and Often these materials are exposed to certain testing like tensile and fatigue. More after the mechanical properties of PP, ABS and HDPE with Nanoclay polymer composites were observing and how much percentage of strength increasing when comparing with the pure samples. Among the selected thermoplastics ABS Nanocomposites exhibit higher mechanical properties and by increasing the nanoclay weight percentage in each and every component the mechanical properties also increasing gradually and all are exhibits their better results at 5% of nanoclay with PP, ABS, and HDPE.

Polypropylene nano-composites at high strain rate impacts: Characterization, failure modes, and modeling

As a major challenge, development of light-weight fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite body armour, characterization of candidate matrix polymers at high strain rate impact is the focus in this research. Polypropylene (PP) and the nano-composites with 1-5% by weight of NC (nanoclay) platelets are the candidates considered. In the characterization phase, high strain rate impact and quasi-static loading tests were performed to figure out the limiting (failure) responses. Comparison between the material systems is, subsequently, made to nominate one matrix configuration. Enhancements of mechanical properties with increase in weight percentage of the nanoparticles are observed at both quasi-static and dynamic loadings. Observations of dispersed imposed failure modes, development of novel model for failure modulus and evaluation of peak strength values are also attempted. Keywords : Nano-composite, Impact behaviour, Analytical modelling, Polypropylene, Failure mode.