Fabrication and characterization of epoxy modified with 0.5% MWCNTs

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

2 Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Zagazig University, Zagazig

Abstract

In the present work, tensile, shear and impact properties of epoxy modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are measured experimentally in accordance with ASTM standards. The MWCNTs were dispersed into the epoxy resin using ultrasonic processor. To avoid damaging the nanotubes, the sonication process was performed at low-amplitude (225W) in a short duration of 30 min. The mixture was evacuated to remove air bubbles before further mixing with hardener. Results from the experimental study showed that incorporation of the MWCNTs into the epoxy resin improves the tensile strength and modulus of the MWCNT-nanocomposite by 11% and 68.7%, respectively, compared with those of the neat epoxy. The shear strength and inplane shear modulus of the MWCNT-nanocomposite were improved by 22.2% and 29%, respectively. The drop weight impact performance of the MWCNT-nanocomposite showed an improvement in the maximum contact force and the absorbed energy of the MWCNT-nanocomposite by 9.5% and 11.4%, respectively.

Keywords