Study on mechanical and viscoelastic behavior of carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced Epofine1564 nanocomposite

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental study to examine the mechanical and viscoelastic characteristics of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) reinforced epoxy nanocomposite. The nanocomposite samples of varying volume fractions are prepared using solution mixing technique. A two-step mixing procedure with magnetic stir and bath type ultra sonicator is employed to acquire well dispersion of CNTs in epoxy resin. Three-point bending, tensile and impact tests are conducted on the prepared samples to measure the elastic modulus, strength and failure strain respectively. The morphological analysis of fractured samples is carried-out under field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The dispersion and reinforcing mechanism of CNTs within the polymer matrix are observed. The results show that a small amount of CNTs in a polymer matrix improves the stiffness and strength of the composite considerably. The agglomeration occurs beyond the 0.5 wt% of CNTs. Furthermore, towards thermal stability analysis, the improvement of viscoelastic characteristics with the addition of MWCNTs is studied using dynamic mechanical analysis test. Results are shown in the form of graphs and tables.