Thermo-mechanical properties of high aspect ratio silica nanofiber filled epoxy composites
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Authors
Ren, Liyun
Issue Date
2014-05
Type
Electronic thesis
Thesis
Thesis
Language
ENG
Keywords
Materials engineering
Alternative Title
Abstract
In this study, a scalable synthesis method of high aspect ratio silica nanofibers is going to be presented. I will also demonstrate that the inclusion of high aspect ratio silica nanofibers in epoxy results in a significant improvement of epoxy thermo-mechanical properties at low filler loadings. With silica nanofiber concentration of 2.8% by volume, the Young's modulus, ultimate tensile strength and fracture toughness of epoxy increased ~23, ~28 and ~50%, respectively, compared to unfilled epoxy. At silica nanofiber volume concentration of 8.77%, the thermal expansion coefficient decreased by ~40% and the thermal conductivity was improved by ~95% at room temperature. In the current study, the influence of nano-sized silica filler aspect ratio on mechanical and thermal behavior of epoxy nanocomposites were studied by comparing silica nanofibers to spherical silica nanoparticles (with aspect ratio of one) at various filler loadings. The significant reinforcement of composite stiffness is attributed to the variation of the local stress state in epoxy due to the high aspect ratio of the silica nanofiber and the introduction of a tremendous amount of interfacial area between the nanofillers and the epoxy matrix.
Description
May 2014
School of Engineering
School of Engineering
Full Citation
Publisher
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY