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SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HYBRID GLASS FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY/TiO2 NANOCOMPOSITES

A. Thiagarajan, P. Madavan, B. Parisithu, P. Loganathan, B. Aravinth


Advancements in the nanotechnology industry promise to offer improvements in capabilities across a spectrum of applications. This is of immense strategic importance to the high performance sector which has historically leveraged technological advances. The polymer nanocomposites are widely used in marine, aerospace, automotive and construction industries due to light weight with high strength. In this present research work, synthesis of hybrid S-glass fiber reinforced with epoxy/TiO2 nanoparticles were carried out and characterized by tensile and impact tests. Glass fibers of woven roving mat (WRM) and chopped stranded mat (CSM) were used as reinforcements. The composite laminates were prepared by hand layup technique with varying weight percentages of TiO2 nanoparticles such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wt. % respectively. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) is employed to investigate the structural morphology and distribution of TiO2 nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. The mechanical properties of the prepared nanocomposites laminates were characterized in terms of tensile and impact (Izod) tests as per ASTM standards. At addition of 3 wt. % of TiO2 nanoparticles the tensile strength was improved by 44% and impact strength by 64.7% when compared with neat polymer nanocomposites. The reason for the enhancement was good interfacial bonding with fiber and polymer matrix.The fractured surfaces of the nanocomposites were examined by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) to characterize the damage progressions