Epoxy/alumina nanocomposites were prepared by reducing micron size alumina into nanosize during the casting process. In our current investigation it was found that, at low concentration alumina nanoparticles exhibit uniform dispersion of alumina nanoparticles in epoxy nanocomposite while at higher concentration they depict aggregation of alumina particle. Since uniform dispersion of alumina nanoparticles results in improved thermal stability and viscoelastic behavior. It leads to remarkable improvement in breakdown voltage, and breakdown time of epoxy/alumina nanocomposites as compared to neat epoxy. Epoxy nanocomposites containing 2. wt.% of alumina particles results in increase of breakdown voltage by 91% and breakdown time by 155% as compared to neat epoxy. Hence, the nanocomposites developed can be used as insulating material in electrical instruments which require high breakdown voltage as well as improved viscoelastic behavior and thermal stability. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Akash Mohanty

Department of Design and Automation

School of Mechanical Engineering

Vellore Campus

Vijay K Srivastava

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private university located in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1984, as Vellore Engineering College, the institution offers 20 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, four integrated and four research programs. It has campuses in Vellore, Amravati, Bhopal and Chennai.

VIT is one of the top ranked private universities in India according to NIRF, THE and QS Rankings.&nbsp;Govt. of India has recognized&nbsp;VIT, Vellore as an&nbsp;Institution of Eminence. This has allowed VIT to take independent quality initiatives and move up in world ranking.

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VIT University

Materials & Design

In this paper, the effects of the annealed Nanodiamonds (NDs) on the bulk mechanical and thermal property of NDs/epoxy nanocomposites were investigated. The properties of the annealed NDs were confirmed through x-ray diffraction, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Thermogravimetric analysis methods. In this study, the (NDs)/epoxy nanocomposites were prepared by using an ultrasonically dispersing method with different wt% of NDs such as 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 in the epoxy matrix. The formation of strong chemical bonding on the annealed surface-modified NDs and epoxy resin, due to presence of the functional groups leads to the formation of an efficient interphase stress transfer. High-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) studies confirmed cluster free uniform dispersion of NDs in epoxy matrix, which lead to the enhancement of the tensile strength by 133%, tensile modulus by 20%, and storage modulus by 12% corresponding to the loading of 0.3 wt% of NDs in epoxy matrix. Thus, the nanocomposites developed in this method can be used in the high-end structural applications as well as improved thermal stability and viscoelastic behavior. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Materials Research Express

Analysis of thermal and mechanical properties of annealed surface modified nanodiamond/epoxy nanocomposites

Epoxy resin is a demanding material for the electrical and electronics packaging industries due to its excellent properties such as good adhesion properties, good electrical properties and low shrinkage during the curing process. However, due to its low thermal conductivity and low compressive strength limits its applications in various industrial applications. In this paper, different wt% of alumina (Al2O3)-graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) were dispersed in the epoxy matrix to improve the compressive performance and thermal stability of epoxy nanocomposites. The Al2O3-GnP reinforced epoxy nanocomposites showed the significant improvement of 107.3% in compressive strength and 25.3% in compressive modulus corresponding to the combined loading of 2 wt% of Al2O3 and 0.5 wt% GnP sample as compared to the neat epoxy test coupons. The thermal stability of the composite samples was investigated by TGA and showed an appreciable improvement in the 10% loss of degradation of temperature. This improvement was associated with the homogeneous dispersion of Al2O3-GnP in the epoxy resin through the sonication and ball milling process. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Compressive performance and thermal stability of alumina—graphene nanoplatelets reinforced epoxy nanocomposites

This article discusses the mechanical performance of alumina nanoparticles and randomly distributed short glass/carbon fiber-reinforced hybrid composites through microhardness and wear test. The open mold casting method was adapted to prepare the test coupons. The wear and friction behavior of composites sliding against hardened ground EN 32 steel in a pin-on-disc configuration is evaluated on a wear and friction tester. The microhardness properties of the neat epoxy, alumina nanoparticles, and alumina nanoparticle–embedded glass/carbon fiber–reinforced hybrid composites were determined. The morphology of the worn composites was analyzed with a scanning electron microscope. It was found that the particles as fillers contributed significantly to improve the mechanical properties and wear resistance of the polymer composites. This is because the fillers contributed to enhance the bonding strength between the fiber and the epoxy resin. Moreover, the wear and friction resistance of the glass/carbon fiber composites was increased by increasing the filler weight in the composite materials. © 2015, Copyright © Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers.

Journal	Data powered by TypesetMaterials & Design
Publisher	Data powered by TypesetElsevier BV
ISSN	0261-3069
Open Access	No