IMPACT STRENGTH AND TOUGHNESS PROPERTIES OF POLYMER MATRIX COMPOSITES DEVELOPED FROM FIBRE GLASS/3-D COTTON FIBRE AND EPOXY RESIN

Abstract

The impact strength ofpolymer matrix composites developedfrom fibre glass, 3-Dimensional cotton fibre and epoxy resin has been investigated in this work. The polymer matrix composites were producedfrom two fibres (fibre glass and 3-dimensional cotton fabrics) and epoxy resins (bisphenol- A-co-epichlorohydrine). The epoxy resin was produced by dissolving a measured quantity ofsolid and liquid Bisphenol-A-co-epichlorohydrin in Acetone. Three different amines (Diethylenetriamine (DETA), Triethylenetetramine (TETA) and Tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA)) were used as curing agents for the production work. The result shows that impact strength of polymeric materials depends heavily on the type of fibre used, the amine/epoxy weight ratio, epoxy/fibre weight ratio, thickness of the fibre and the use of additives as property modifiers. The toughness properties were deduced from the tensile properties by computational methods. Toughness properties were found to decrease as the ratio of amine to epoxy increases when DETA and TEPA were used as amines. The toughness properties increases as the ratio of epoxy to fibre increases when DETA was u~ed. Compounding with High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Nitrile Butyldene Rubber (NBR) drastically increased toughness by 30% for most of the samples developed. Impact strength increases as the thickness of the fibre glass increases.