INFLUENCE OF GRAPHENE NANOPLATELETS ON MECHANICAL AND THERMO-MECHANICAL PROPRTIES OF GLASS/EPOXY COMPOSITES

The current work focuses on the influence of graphene nanoplatelets (GPs) on the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of unidirectional glass/epoxy (GE) composites. GE and GP-GE composites are fabricated using the hand lay-up method followed by compression molding. Different percentages of GPs used in the fabrication of GP-GE composites are (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7) w/% by weight of the epoxy. Tests are conducted to experimentally evaluate the uniaxial compressive properties and the coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) in the direction of fibers. Tests are also conducted to study the thermo-mechanical properties such as storage modulus (E’) and loss modulus (E’’). The variation in the storage modulus and loss modulus is measured from 15 °C to 125 °C, using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) while the CLTE is measured using a dialatometer. The results indicate that the compressive as well as thermo-mechanical properties increase with the addition of GPs up to 0.5 % and then they decrease. The addition of GPs has no effect on the CLTE of the GE composites in the fiber direction.