Influence of micro and nanofillers on mechanical properties of pultruded unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite systems

This paper reports, fabrication and characterization of unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite filled with nano-size alumina, silica and micron-size alumina trihydrate fillers using pultrusion technique. Tensile, flexural and impact strengths were determined to evaluate the effectiveness of fillers on the mechanical properties. Results show that the micro and nanofillers act as secondary reinforcement. The tensile, flexural and impact strengths of 10 wt% (combined alumina, silica and alumina trihydrate)-filled glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite improved by 9. 20 and 28%, respectively, as compared to the unfilled and alumina/silica-filled glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The enhanced performance of micro and nanofillers-filled glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites is due to better adhesion and good dispersion of particulates in the epoxy matrix providing increased surface area for strong interfacial interaction and better load transfer. The improved mechanical properties indicate that the unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy with combined micro- and nanofillers-filled composite is a good candidate for structural application.