Influence of nano-silica on mechanical properties of Indian almond fiber reinforced hybrid epoxy composites

ABSTRACT

Natural fiber reinforced composites are useful in engineering applications as energy saving material due to their light weight. However, the lower mechanical properties limit it service compared to conventional material. Hence, the purpose of this study is to improve the mechanical properties of the natural fiber composites using nano-silica particles. Indian almond fiber-based epoxy composite was manufactured with different quantity of nano-silica. Totally, five materials were fabricated namely E (Epoxy), EI (Epoxy/Indian almond), EIS1 (Epoxy/Indian almond/0.5 wt% silica), EIS2 (Epoxy/Indian almond/1 wt% silica), and EIS3 (Epoxy/Indian almond/2 wt% silica) by conventional hand layup technique. Mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural, impact, and hardness were tested. Further, water absorption behavior of the materials was analyzed to understand the dimensional stability of the material. Results showed that EIS3 composite exhibited the higher tensile strength of 77 MPa, flexural strength of 109 MPa, impact strength of 4.31 KJ/m², and hardness of 93 shore D. Mechanical properties of EIS3 composites were improved due to the reinforcing effect of Indian almond fiber (40 wt%) and nano-silica (2 wt%). Water absorption study showed that the EI composite displayed the maximum water absorption of 14.6% at the soaking time of 6 hours due to hydrophilic tendency of fiber. This investigation concludes that EIS3 composite could be applicable in engineering applications for constructional work owing to its improved performance.

摘要

天然纤维增强复合材料由于其重量轻, 在工程应用中作为节能材料非常有用. 然而, 与传统材料相比, 较低的机械性能限制了其使用. 因此, 本研究旨在利用纳米二氧化硅颗粒改善天然纤维复合材料的力学性能. 用不同量的纳米二氧化硅制备了印度杏仁纤维基环氧复合材料. 通过传统的手工叠层技术, 总共制备了五种材料, 即E(环氧树脂), EI (环氧树脂/印度杏仁) EIS1 (环氧树脂/印度杏仁/0.5wt%二氧化硅), EIS2 (环氧树脂/印度杏仁/1wt%二氧化硅) 和EIS3 (环氧树脂/印度杏仁/2wt%二氧化硅). 测试了拉伸、弯曲、冲击和硬度等力学性能. 此外, 还分析了材料的吸水行为, 以了解材料的尺寸稳定性. 结果表明, EIS3复合材料的拉伸强度为77MPa, 弯曲强度为109MPa, 冲击强度为4.31kJ/m2, 硬度为93邵氏硬度. 由于印度杏仁纤维 (40wt%) 和纳米二氧化硅 (2wt%) 的增强作用, EIS3复合材料的力学性能得到了改善. 吸水性研究表明, 由于纤维的亲水性, EI复合材料在浸泡6小时时的最大吸水率为14.6%. 本研究得出结论, EIS3复合材料由于其性能的改善, 可以应用于建筑工程的工程应用中.

关键词:

• 纳米二氧化硅
• 印度杏仁纤维
• 天然纤维
• 环氧树脂
• 机械性能

KEYWORDS:

• Nano-silica
• Indian almond fiber
• natural fiber
• epoxy
• mechanical properties

Disclosure statement

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