• Carbon letters
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.67-70
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• 2014

In this work, nanocomposites of epoxy resin and chemically reduced graphene oxide (RGO) were prepared by thermal curing process. X-ray diffractions confirmed the microstructural properties of RGO. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to evaluate the curing behaviors of RGO/epoxy nanocomposites with different RGO loading amounts. We investigated the effect of RGO loading amounts on the mechanical properties of the epoxy nanocomposites. It was found that the presence of RGO improved both flexural strength and modulus of the epoxy nanocomposites till the RGO loading reached 0.4 wt%, and then decreased. The optimum loading achieved about 24.5 and 25.7% improvements, respectively, compared to the neat-epoxy composites. The observed mechanical reinforcement might be an enhancement of mechanical interlocking between the epoxy matrix and RGO due to the unique planar structures.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.737-742
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• 1994

The fracture energy of glass fiber/carbon fiber/epoxy resin hybrid composite system was investigated in the aspect of fracture mechanism. Epoxy resin matrix was DGEBA-MDA-SN-HQ system. On the interface of glass fiber and matrix, post debone friction energy provided a major contribution to the fracture energy, and debonding energy and pull-out energy were of the similar value. In the case of fracture on the interface of carbon fiber and matrix, pull-out energy was the major contributor.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.299-306
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• 2019

The natural fibre composites are termed as bio-composites. They have shown a promising replacement to the current carbon/glass fibre reinforced composites as environmental friendly materials in specific applications. Natural fibre reinforced composites are potential materials for various engineering applications in automobile, railways, building and Aerospace industry. The natural fibre selected to fabricate the composite material is plant-based fibre e.g., sisal fibre. Sisal fibre is a suitable reinforcement for use in composites on account of its low density, high specific strength, and high hardness. Epoxy is a thermosetting polymer which is used as a resin in natural fibre reinforced composites. Hand lay-up technique was used to fabricate the composites by reinforcing sisal fibres into the epoxy matrix. Composites were prepared with the unidirectional alignment of sisal fibres. Test specimens with different fibre orientations were prepared. The fabricated composites were tested for mechanical properties. Impact test, tensile test, flexural test, hardness test, compression test, and thermal test of composites had been conducted to assess its suitability in industrial applications. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test revealed the microstructural information of the fractured surface of composites.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.223-228
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• 2005

In the present work, a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composite, filled with Zn-ion coated structural silica encapsulated with the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA), was synthesized using the conventional melt-blending technique in a sigma internal mixer. The catalytic activity of the Zn-ions (originating from the structural silica) towards the oxirane group (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA): encapsulating agent) was assessed by infrared spectroscopy. Two composites, each with a filler content of $2.5 wt\%$ were developed. The first one was obtained by melt blending the Zn-ion coated structural silica with LDPE in a co-rotating sigma internal mixer. The second one was obtained by melt blending the same LDPE, but with DGEBA encapsulated Zn-ion coated structural silica. Epoxy resin encapsulation of the Zn-ion coated structural silica resulted in its having good interfacial adhesion and a homogeneous dispersion in the polymer matrix. Furthermore, the encapsulation of epoxy resin over the Zn-ion coated structural silica showed improvements in both the mechanical and thermal properties, viz. a $33\%$ increase in the elastic modulus and a rise in the onset degradation temperature from 355 to $371^{\circ}C$, in comparison to the Zn-ion coated structural silica.

• Composites Research
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.34-38
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• 2011

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely investigated as reinforcements of CNT/polymer nanocomposites to enhance mechanical and electrical properties of polymer matrices since their discovery in the early 90's. Furthermore, the number of studies about incorporating CNTs into carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) to reinforce their polymer matrices is increasing recently. In this study, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) were dispersed in epoxy with 0.2 wt.% and 0.5 wt.%. Then, the SWNT/epoxy mixtures were processed to carbon fiber composites by a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) and a wet lay up method. The processed composite samples were tested for the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). The relationship between the interlaminar shear strengths and processing, and the reinforcement mechanism of carbon nanotubes were investigated. CNT/epoxy nanocomposite specimens showed the increased tensile properties. However, the ILSS of carbon fiber composites was not enhanced by reinforcing the matrix with CNTs because of processing issues caused by increased viscosity of the matrix due to addition of CNTs particularly for a VARTM method.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.305-310
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• 2021

Mechanical properties of fiber reinforced composites were affected to fiber volume fractions (FVF) and interfacial property by sizing agent conditions. An optimum interface can relieve stress concentration by transferring the mechanical stress from the matrix resin to the reinforcements effectively, and thus can result in the performance of the composites. The interfacial properties and wettability between the epoxy resin and glass fiber (GF) were evaluated for different sizing agent conditions and FVFs. The surface energies of epoxy resin and different sizing agent treated GFs were calculated using dynamic and static contact angle measurements. The work of adhesion, W_a was calculated by using surface energies of epoxy matrix and GFs. The wettability was evaluated via the GF tow capillary test. The interfacial shear strength (IFSS) was evaluated by microdroplet pull-out test. Finally, the optimized GFRP manufacturing conditions could be obtained by using wettability and interfacial property.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.131-138
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• 2014

Highly conductive bipolar plate for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was prepared using phenol novolac-type epoxy/graphite powder (GP)/carbon fiber filament (CFF) composite, and a rubber-modified epoxy resin was introduced in order to give elasticity to the bipolar plate graphite fiber (GF) was incorporated in order to improve electrical conductivity. To find out the cure condition of the mixture of novolac-type and rubber-modified epoxies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was carried out and their data were introduced to Kissinger equation. And tensile and flexural tests were carried out using universal testing machine (UTM) and the surface morphology of the fractured specimen and the interfacial bonding between epoxy matrix and CFF or GF were observed by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.85-88
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• 2012

Studies on the effects of layered silicate content on the AC electrical treeing and breakdown behaviors of epoxy/layered silicate nanocomposites were carried out in needle-plate electrode geometry. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation showed that 1 wt% of the multilayered silicate was fully exfoliated into nano-sized monolayers in the epoxy matrix however, over 3 wt% of the silicate was in an intercalated state. When 1 wt% layered silicates were incorporated, an electrical tree was initiated in 439 min and propagated at a speed of 2.3 ${\mu}m$/min after applying 781.4 kV/mm, representing a decreased in starting initiation time by a factor of 11.0 and increase in propagation speed by a factor 8.2 in comparison with neat epoxy resin. These values were in great decline after the layered silicate content was increased to 3wt% which implies that the exfoliated silicate blocked the tree initiation and propagation processes effectively. However the effect was largely decreased in the intercalated state.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.721-727
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• 2000

The electrolytic plating of a metallic nickel on carbon fiber surfaces was carried out to improve mechanical interfacial properties of carbon fiber/epoxy resin composites. The surface characteristics of carbon fibers and the mechanical interfacial properties of final composites were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), respectively. It was found that the electrolytic Ni-plating conditions significantly affected the degree of adhesion at interfaces between carbon fibers and epoxy resin matrix in a composite system. Especially, the increase of O,$_{1s}$/$C_{1s}$ ratio, production of NiO groups, and formation of metallic nickel on the nickel-plated carbon fiber surfaces led to an increase of the ILSS of the composites. Also, the ILSS of the composites was greatly correlated with the $O_{1s}$/$C_{1s}$ ratio of the carbon fibers treated in this work.is work.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.2613-2620
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• 2023

Excellent thermal neutron absorption performance of boron expands the potential use of boron rich slag to prepare epoxy resin matrix nuclear shielding composites. However, shielding attenuation behaviors and mechanism of the composites against gamma rays are unclear. Based on the radiation protection theory, Phy-X/PSD, XCOM, and ⁶⁰Co gamma ray source were integrated to obtain the shielding parameters of boron rich slag/epoxy resin composites at 0.015-15 MeV, which include mass attenuation coefficient (µ_t), linear attenuation coefficient (µ), half value thickness layer (HVL), electron density (N_eff), effective atomic number (Z_eff), exposure buildup factor (EBF) and exposure absorption buildup factor (EABF).µ_t, µ, HVL, N_eff, Z_eff, EBF and EABF are 0.02-7 cm²/g, 0.04-17 cm^-1, 0.045-20 cm, 5-14, 3 × 10²³-8 × 10²³ electron/g, 0-2000, and 0-3500. Shielding performance is BS4, BS3, BS3, BS1 in descending order, but worse than ordinary concrete. µ and HVL of BS1-BS4 for ⁶⁰Co gamma ray is 0.095-0.110 cm^-1 and 6.3-7.2 cm. Shielding mechanism is main interactions for attenuation gamma ray by BS1-BS4 are elements with higher content or higher atomic number via Photoelectric Absorption at low energy range, and elements with higher content via Compton Scattering and Pair Production in Nuclear Field at middle and higher energy range.