Evaluation of glass-fiber grafted by epoxide-terminated hyperbranched polymer on the effect of mechanical characterization of epoxy composites

Abstract In this study, glass-fiber, grafted by epoxide-terminated hyperbranched polymer (GF-HBPE), was incorporated into epoxy resins for reinforcement purpose. The effects of GF-HBPE content on mechanical properties of the resulting epoxy-based composites, such as tensile strength, percentage elongation at break, flexural strength, and impact strength, were investigated. The experimental results revealed that GF-HBPE substantially outperformed impact resistance in both tensile and flexural tests. For instance, the tensile strength, percentage elongation at break, flexural strength, and impact strength of the epoxy composite with 1 wt% GF-HBPE increase by about 23.6%, 125%, 26%, and 74.5%, respectively, compared to the unmodified epoxy thermoset.