Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of silica aerogels on mechanical (flexural and impact), non-destructive and thermal properties of glass/epoxy composites. Silica aerogels were mixed with epoxy at various volume fractions (1% and 3%) and infused with glass fabrics to produce composite laminates. Flexural tests indicated that the addition of aerogels increased the flexural strength of composites at the warp direction. Low impact energy (10–30 J) test results exhibited that impact force and energy absorption of composites were slightly increased. Higher energy (100 J) caused more severe damages and the effect of aerogels was more obvious. The thermogravimetric analysis revealed that addition of aerogels increased the thermostability. Generally, addition 1% of aerogel provides more improvement on mechanical properties and thermal stability compared to addition 3%. Although there is not a linear relationship between aerogel content and thermal conductivity, samples with 3% aerogel exhibited lower thermal conductivity values than other samples.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 371-383 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Plastics, Rubber and Composites |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Institute.
Funding
We would like to thank to Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştirma Kurumu for the support under the project 218M766.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştirma Kurumu | 218M766 |
Keywords
- Silica aerogels
- flexural strength
- glass fibre/epoxy composites
- impact resistance
- non-destructive tests
- thermal conductivity
- thermal properties
- thermogravimetric analysis