Weight Percentage Of Nanoclay Research Articles

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.

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.

ANNbased prediction of the absorption characteristics of additive manufactured glycol‐modified polyethylene terephthalate nanocomposites reinforced with short‐carbon fibers and nanoclay fillers

AbstractIn this research work, an artificial neural network (ANN) based data driven prediction technique is proposed to evaluate the absorption characteristics of glycol‐modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) polymer nanocomposites reinforced with short carbon fibers (SCFs) and organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanoclay (NC) fillers. The specimens are fabricated through additive manufacturing routine. The data points owing to the absorption of PETG nanocomposites are collected with the aid of the experimentation, which are then used to train the ANN model using Levenberg–Marquardt backward propagation algorithm. Different variants of PETG nanocomposites are prepared using various weight percentages of NC (1%, 3%, and 5%) and SCFs (5%, 10%, and 15%). The required filaments were prepared with the aid of compounding and extrusion processes. The specimens were printed using the fused deposition modeling technique. Further, the absorption behavior of these nanocomposites when exposed to distilled water, salt solution, and sugar solution has been experimentally studied following the ASTM D570 standard. The individual and combined effects of reinforcing OMMT‐NC and SCFs in the PETG matrix are also studied. The experimental results suggest that the absorption characteristics of PETG nanocomposites are significantly affected by the NC and SCFs reinforcements. The outcomes of this work will aid the design/material engineers in making a good trade‐off between the mechanical and absorption properties of the proposed PETG nanocomposites.

Study on mechanical properties and water uptake of polyester-nanoclay nanocomposite and analysis of wear property using RSM

The study aims to fabricate and characterize polyester-nanoclay nanocomposites using different weight percentages of nanoclay. Nanoclay is mixed into polyester resin using a mechanical stirrer and a sonicator. The mixture is molded into specimens that meet ASTM standards. The nanoclay addition improved mechanical properties, thus lowering the water uptake of polyester-nanoclay nanocomposites. The causes of specimen failure are discovered using scanning electron microscopy images. A wear test on a pin-on-disc apparatus involves 4 factors, viz., nanoclay wt.%, speed, load, and time at 3 levels. Response surface methodology (RSM)'s "central composite face-centered design" is used to investigate individual factor's influence on the wear property of a polyester-nanoclay nanocomposite. The addition of nanoclay increased the wear resistance of polyester, according to the results.

Effect of nanoclay and burnt limestone powder on fresh and hardened properties of self-compacting concrete

The growing rate of cement production and construction waste due to rapid urbanization is producing environmental threat. Therefore, it is necessary to replace fully or partially with reinforcement material. Thus, in this research work, sulfate resistance cement (SRC) was replaced with different weight percentages of nanoclay (NC) (2, 4 and 6%) and burnt limestone powder (BLP) (50, 75 and 100 kg) to produce self-compacting concrete (SCC) for investigating the fresh and hardened properties. The local Iraqi natural Kaolin clay was calcinated at 700 °C for 2 h and milled for 40 h through ball milling to produce NC. Further, the limestone powder was burnt at 700 °C for 2 h and partially replaced with SRC. The ball milling successfully reduced clay to a particle size of < 75 nm sized for NC. Moreover, the inclusion of NC and BLP significantly affected the fresh properties of SCC. For hardened properties, the inclusion of both mixtures gradually increased hardened properties; however, the NC-incorporating SCC specimens have higher hardened properties than reference SCC (SCC0), whereas the lower weight percentages of BLP provided insignificant hardened properties. Additionally, as based on results, both mixture material (NC and BLP) can be utilized for producing SCC.

Processing and characterization of 3D-printed nanoclay/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (abs) nanocomposite gear

In this study, the possibility of producing layered silicate-reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) using additive manufacturing procedures was investigated. In particular, this investigation presents novel methods for making nanoclay-infused acrylonitrile butadiene styrene composite spur gear. The gear was developed by introducing different weight percentages of nanoclay (0–5 wt%), on each acrylonitrile butadiene styrene layer. A square panel of 6 layers with varying proportions of nanoclay was fabricated using a 3D printer. The effect of nanoclay loading on the mechanical properties such as impact, tensile, flexural, and DMA of spur gears created using pure acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and nanoclay-infused nanocomposite was investigated and compared. The strength of the developed spur gear varies with different loading of nanoclay. The results that the spur gear, with 2 wt% nanoclay, offered superior properties. The micrographs showed the dispersion of nanoclay strongly bonded with the matrix, resulting in improved strength and stiffness. The improvement in mechanical properties depicts the effectiveness of additive manufacturing procedure with an enormous benefit for the mass production of gears of different types.

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.

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.

Tribo-Mechanical Responses of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Hybrid Nanocomposites

Abstract In the trending materials technology, nano composites are gaining importance due to enhanced mechanical, thermal and optical properties. Among various nanofillers used in fiber reinforced polymer nanocomposites, nanoclays have received several attractions among academia and researchers due to its high aspect ratio and characteristic exfoliation/intercalation properties. The stiffness of glass fibre reinforced polymer composites is not very high in comparison to carbon fibres. In the present work, an attempt has been made to enhance the stiffness and tribological properties of glass fibres by mixing nanoclays in the epoxy matrix. Hand lay up method was adopted to make ten layered glass fibre reinforced polymer hybrid composite. The weight percentage of nanoclay was 1%, 3%, 5%, and 7% to understand the behaviour of the hybrid composites. It was observed that 5% loading of nanoclay shows the optimum amount at which all the properties like hardness, impact strength, flexural strength and specific wear rate was increased. However, with further increase in nanoclays, all the above said properties were deteriorated. At 5% nanoclay content, hardness increased by 33.8%, impact strength by 74.8%, flexural strength and modulus by 37.5% and 37.67% respectively. Hence the above hybrid composite may be considered as a better composite for various structural and industrial applicationse.

Electro-optical properties of poly(N-vinyl carbazole) nanoclay composites

In this work, different weight percentages of nanoclay (NC) (2% and 5%) and N-vinyl carbazole were prepared by chemical polymerization. For investigation of structure, optical and morphologies of samples, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used, respectively. Moreover, dielectric properties of composites were examined using dielectric analysis system and vector network analyzer system at high frequency. It was seen that the values of the real and imaginary dielectric constants and loss factor decrease with doping nanoclay into poly(N-vinyl carbazole) (PNVC). The conductivity properties of all samples were studied, and “s” parameter was calculated. Up to 1.7 GHz, “s” parameter value correlated with Jonscher power law, and between 1.7 GHz and 20 GHz, “s” parameter value correlated with superlinear power law. Also, the atomic polarization behaviors in the high-frequency regions have been obtained for PNVC and PNVC doped with 2%, 5% NCs at 25 °C.

Investigation on effect of cold soaking on the properties of nanoclay-GFRP composite

In this study, nanocomposites are prepared by adding nanoclay as direct reinforcement (NCD) and nanoclay as filler material (NCF) to Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP). NCDs are prepared by direct casting technique and NCFs are prepared by hand lay-up technique. GFRP composites are prepared by varying nanoclay (0, 2 and 4 wt%) and glass fiber (40, 50 and 60 wt%). Specimens are immersed in water for 70 days to investigate the effect of cold soaking. Cold soaking has adverse influence on the tensile and flexural strengths of both NCD and NCF. Moisture uptake reduced with increase in weight percentage of nanoclay and glass fiber. Addition of 2 and 4 wt% of nanoclay reduces the maximum moisture uptake by 4 and 8% in NCF and 6 and 11% in NCD, respectively. Tensile and flexural strengths of cold soaked NCD decreased by 13.9 to 25% and 13.2 to 23.7% respectively. Tensile and flexural strengths of cold soaked NCF decreased by 8 to 20% and 10 to 15% respectively.

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.

Combined effect of nano clay and fibre surface treatment on mechanical behaviours of Palmyra fruit fibre/MMT clay reinforced polyester hybrid composite

This study concentrated on evaluating the mechanical characteristics of Palmyra fruit fibre/MMT clay reinforced polyester hybrid composites. The effects of nano clay loading and surface treatment on the fibre surface are simultaneously observed by conducting various tests. Compression moulding technique is followed to fabricate the composite samples. Composites are prepared with and without surface modified fibre and in the both cases, nano clay is added hence the changes due to the various weight percentages of nano clay are also recorded. Surface modification of the fibre was done with1 N alkali solution. The mechanical properties like tensile, flexural and impact strengths are evaluated as per ASTM and reported.

Modeling and Analysis of the Tensile and Flexural Properties of a Fiber-Orientated Hybrid Nanocomposite Using Taguchi Methodology

For an epoxy/carbon fiber/nanoclay/nanosilica quadratic hybrid nanocomposite, the effect of three independent parameters, such as carbon fiber orientation, weight percentage of nanoclay and weight percentage of nanosilica (SiO 2 ), on the nanocomposite tensile and flexural properties was evaluated. The Taguchi orthogonal array design was selected for designing the experiments and 16 specimens were prepared and tested based on designed levels for each response. It was revealed that all input variables have a reverse effect on the corresponding responses and, according to 2D contour plots, the two component interactions (fiber orientation, nanoclay) and (fiber orientation, nanosilica) are significant for both tensile and flexural strength properties, whereas the other interaction between nanosilica and nanoclay has no pronounced effect on any of the desired responses. Stress–strain plots show that hybrid nanocomposites with different fiber orientations exhibit higher tensile and flexural strength values, higher elongations at rupture, but lower elastic moduli, as compared to epoxy-nanosilica, epoxy-nanoclay and pure epoxy ones.

Effects of Elevated Temperatures on the Compression Strength of Nanoclay Filled Unsaturated Polyester Resin

The paper describes the effects of the montmorillonite (MMT) fillers commonly known as nanoclay, on the compression properties of unsaturated polyester resins at different weight percentage of nanoclay. Modified resin specimens with 1, 3 and 5 wt. % of nanoclay contents were prepared and subjected to compressive tests according to ASTM D695. The static uniaxial compression testing were conducted at various temperatures ranging from room temperature (RT) to the temperature closer to its glass transition temperatureTgto study the effect of nanoclay fillers on the compressive stress-strain behaviour at high temperatures (room temperature, 35, 45, and 75°C). The mechanical properties of the nanomodified resin including the elastic modulus, maximum stress and failure strain were determined. The experimental results imply that adding these nanoclay fillers has enhanced the elastic modulus, compressive strength, and toughness without sacrificing the strain to failure and thermal stability of the unsaturated polyester. However it was found that generally, all specimens showed degradation in compressive strength with increases in temperatures.

Structure and properties of polypropylene-nanoclay composites

The structure, morphology and mechanical properties of polypropylene-nanoclay composites containing 1 to15 wt.% nanoclay was investigated. Combination of wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to determine nanocomposite morphology. Mixture of intercalated and exfoliated morphology was observed for all the samples. Samples with 1 to 5 wt.% clay showed shear induced orientation of clay platelets in the surface region of the molded bars. Glass transition temperature slightly decreased due to the plasticizing effect of additives. At higher weight percentage reinforcement (10–15 wt.%), up to 67 % improvement in tensile modulus is observed. Breaking energy was significantly improved for samples with up to 2 wt.% nanoclay additives. With further increase in nanoclay weight percentage, failure mode shifted from ductile to brittle. Increase in exclusion of clay additives at the boundary of spherulites and segregation of clay platelets were observed for samples with higher weight percentage of clay additives.

Small punch test on the analysis of fracture behaviour of PLA-nanocomposite films

The analysis of the fracture behaviour of polymeric films involves the determination of the specific essential work of fracture, which requires preparation, testing and evaluation of a large number of notched specimens. All these tasks demand significant time and costs; therefore, the use of alternative testing procedures that offer savings of both materials and time are becoming increasingly attractive options. Recently, the Small Punch Test (SPT) has experienced significant development as an alternative to conventional testing procedures in the field of steels and some metallic alloys. This work considers the applicability of SPT to the fracture characterisation of polylactide acid reinforced with organic-modified montmorillonite clay, using several weight percentages of nanoclay. The applicability of the experimental methodology is evaluated through comparison of the results obtained by SPT and conventional testing (tensile and essential work of fracture).

Influence of MMT nanoclay on impedance spectroscopy analysis of naturally woven coconut sheath/polyester hybrid composite

AbstractIn this work, the impedance spectroscopy study has been carried out for the naturally woven coconut sheath fiber reinforced composite with the effect of adding different weight percentages of montmorillonite nanoclay and chemical activation of fiber. The dispersion mechanism of nanoclay with polyester, and the modification of the fiber surface have been studied by using X–ray diffractogram, transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope respectively. Infra‐red spectra have also been taken to study the reactive compounds of treated fibers. The impedance spectrum shows significant improvement in A.C. conductivity, dielectric constant and loss tangent values by the fiber modification, using alkali and silane treatments, due to the structural topography changes at the fiber surface. The highest dielectric strength was found in alkali‐treated coconut sheath/polyester composite due to increase in orientation polarization by the absorption of moisture content at fiber surface. The addition of different weight percentages of nanoclay with coconut sheath in all the treated conditions shows significant changes in the dielectric properties. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

Tensile and Flexural Properties of MMT-Clay/ Unsaturated Polyester Using Robust Design Concept

The effect of nanoclay on the mechanical properties of Isophthalic unsaturated polyester was studied with the help of robust design Concept. Organo modified MMT nanoclay (Nanomer 1.31PS) was used as reinforcement. The weight percentage of nanoclay, impeller blade design, mixing hours and mixing speed were taken as control factors. In Taguchi design of experiments, L9 orthogonal array was employed to investigate the effect of control factors on mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural strength. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) results show the intercalation /exfoliation of clays in the polyester matrix.