Effect Of Silica And Graphite Fillers On Mechanical Behavior Of Epoxy Composite Laminates

Research Article
Sriram A, Sudharsanan N and Mudhukrishnan M
DOI: 
xxx-xxxxx-xxxx
Subject: 
science
KeyWords: 
Epoxy resin, filler material, tensile strength, flexural modulus, Impact strength, ASTM standards
Abstract: 

Polymer matrix composites are emerging trend of promising materials in all engineering materials. The use of polymeric composite materials has increased considerably over the last decade. In the present study, graphite and silica filled epoxy composites with different particulate fractions were investigated for mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and hardness as per the relevant ASTM standards. The filler content was varied from 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% by weight of total matrix of epoxy in the composite laminate. The results showed that the mechanical properties of the composites mainly depend on dispersion condition of the filler particles and aggregate structure. It also revealed that silica filled composites exhibited better than unfilled epoxy composites. The properties of composites improved in tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and hardness with increase of silica filler material content. But, these properties except hardness were shown decreasing trend by increasing the content of graphite filler material. The hardness of the composite laminate is increases with increasing in the content of graphite filler material. The 15% silica filled epoxy composite laminate has shown superior to other materials.