Influence of milled glass fillers on the impact and compression after impact behavior of glass/epoxy composite laminates

The effects of milled glass fibre as fillers on the impact and post impact compression (CAI) behavior of glass/epoxy composite laminates is investigated. The milled glass fiber fillers 5% by weight of epoxy were incorporated into the glass/epoxy laminates by using ultra-sonication and mechanical stirring techniques then the results were compared with the baseline glass/epoxy laminate. The incident energy applied were 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 J. The glass filler loaded samples exhibited higher peak force than the baseline samples. The compression strength of Non-Impacted (NI) filler loaded samples was improved by 18% compared to the baseline samples. A good correlation between milled glass filler addition into the matrix of glass/epoxy composites and the improvement in impact damage and residual CAI behaviors were evident. The improved impact and CAI properties of milled glass filled composite indicate that this composite is a good candidate for load bearing applications.