Study of mechanical properties of epoxy/glass/nanoclay hybrid composites

The objective of this research was to study the mechanical properties of epoxy/glass/nanoclay hybrid composites. Nanomer 1.30E nanoclay (0- 6 wt%) was initially dispersed into epoxy using ultrasonication and the hybrid nanocomposite was fabricated using hand lay-up technique. Mechanical properties such as ultimate tensile strength, Young's modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, interlaminar shear strength, and microhardness of the hybrid composites increased with increase in nanoclay loading up to 5 wt%. Glass transition temperature increased marginally at 2 wt% nanoclay loading and the same decreased for further addition of the filler. The tensile-fractured specimens were studied to examine the mode of failure using scanning electron microscope.