MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF UNIDIRECTIONALTHERMOPLASTIC NANOCOMPOSITES

摘要

The fabrication of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic nanocomposites, E-Glass reinforcedpolypropylene (PP) composite by pultrusion and E-Glass reinforced Nylon-6 composite bycompression molding, with and without dispersed nanoclay (montmorillonite) platelets isdiscussed. Mechanical characterization of nanocomposites were performed and compared withtraditional microcomposites. Compressive as well as shear strength of nanocomposites wereincreased by improving the yield strength of the surrounding matrix through the dispersion ofnanoclay. Initially, the pultruded nanocomposite was fabricated using extruded pre-impregnated(pre-preg) tapes. Significant improvements were achieved in compressive strength and shearstrength with relatively low nanoclay loadings These tests confirmed significant improvementsin compressive strength (～122% at 10% nanoclay loading) and shear strength (～60% at 3%nanoclay loading) in modified pultruded E-Glass/PP nanocomposites in comparison withbaseline properties. Mechanical tests on E-Glass/Nylon-6 nanocomposite confirmed strengthenhancement with nanoclay addition, with a significant improvement in compressive strength(50% at 4% nanoclay loading) and shear strength (～36% at 4% nanoclay loading). Hygrothermalageing (50 °C and 100% RH) of E-Glass/Nylon6 modified with 4% nanoclay loading showedimproved barrier performance with a significant reduction (～33%) in moisture uptake comparedto baseline E-Glass/Nylon 6 composites. Understanding the underlying nanoscale mechanisms iscurrently underway.