Investigating the effects of Silicone Rubber (SR), Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK), and Nanoclay on the mechanical properties of artificial granite stone

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the effect of Silicone Rubber (SR), Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK), and Nanoclay on the mechanical properties of granite artificial/engineered stone. In this study, two types of resins called epoxy resin and vinyl ester resin as an adhesive and also three types of additives called SR, PEEK, and Nanoclay as properties modifiers are used. Waste granite aggregate has also been used to fabricate all the specimens. Specimens modified with PEEK had an average compressive strength of about 40% and 132% more than the control specimens in specimens made with epoxy resin and vinyl ester resin, respectively. Also, the flexural strength results of the fabricated specimens showed that adding SR to the vinyl ester resin is the best option to obtain the highest flexural strength. Analysing the tensile strength results of the specimens made with three types of additives, the results showed that adding SR to the specimens made with epoxy resin is the best option to obtain the highest tensile strength for them. It can be concluded that the suitable additive to increase the tensile and flexural strength of the specimens is SR, which increases these strengths by 20.7% to 46.2% and 7.2% to 18.2%, respectively.

KEYWORDS:

• Polymer granite artificial stone
• cast stone
• engineered stone
• epoxy resin
• vinyl ester resin

Acknowledgment

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).