Authors

Abstract

Nano-SiO2 with different weight percentage (1,2 ,3, 4 and 5) % wt. , and 3% MWCNT were usedto fabricate nano-SiO2/MWNT/epoxy composite samples by hand layup method. Ultrasonic mixing processwas used to disperse the nano additives into the resin system. scanning electron microscopy (SEM)where usedto carry out the characteristic of fracture surface. By both the high aspect ratio and the very high modulus ofnano fillers. The mechanical properties of the composite with different weight percentages of nano-SiO2 havebeen investigated and After examine, the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) explains well dispersednanotubes and SiO2 nano particles in the matrix. No evidence of agglomeration of the nanotubes can be foundin this micrographs. By adding SiO2 nano particles to epoxy/MWCNT composite, this would dramaticallyimprove the bending properties and The Young’s modulus has been doubled and quadrupled for compositeswith respectively 2 and 4 wt.% nano SiO2, compared to the pure resin matrix samples (3.36 ,4.06 ,and 1.59 )GPa respectively .While flexural strength has been increased in random manner with maximum value for 2 wt%(111 MPa). The hardness of nano composite increased with increase of SiO2 filler loading, it can be seen thatthe SiO2 filler greatly increased the hardness, which can be attributed to the higher hardness and moreuniform dispersion of SiO2 filler. The higher hardness is exhibited by the 5 wt% SiO2 filled compared to othernanocomposites. The results show that at 5wt% nano SiO2 content there is 11% increase in hardness

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