Effect of nanosilica and nanoclay reinforcement on flexural and thermal properties of glass fiber/epoxy composites

This work focuses on the effect of nanosilica and nanoclay reinforced in glass fiber/epoxy composites on the flexural and thermal property. For the mechanical characterization of the glass fiber-reinforced in modified epoxy containing nanosilica 1 wt% of epoxy) and nanoclay (2 wt% of epoxy), specimens for flexural testing were used to obtain flexural strength and flexural modulus which were then compared with the neat GE glass-epoxy (GE) sample. Additionally, the change in glass transition temperature (T-g) was measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The environmental scanning electron microscope or ESEM was used for the fractographic analysis of the fractured samples. From the results, it is clear that a mixture of 1 wt% of silica nanoparticles and 2 wt% of nanoclay with epoxy improves the flexural strength of the sample when compared with neat GE samples whereas the T-g reduces as verified by DSC. Thus the matrix modification was found to be advantageous for the flexural property of the material but with a reduction in glass transition temperature. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.