Improvement of the nylon (N)-glass fiber (G) reinforced polyester composite properties by varying oxide ceramic particles and stacking sequences of N and G

Abstract This study investigated the mechanical and physical properties of hybrid composites made with nylon fiber mesh (N), woven glass fiber (G), and unsaturated polyester (UPE) resin filled with different oxide ceramic particles (CPs) (ZnO, Al 2 O 3 , ZrO 2 , and TiO 2 ). The influence of the stacking order of N and G (GGNNGG, GNGGNG, NGGGGN, and NNGGGG) on the mechanical properties of the composites was also studied. The goals of this study are to determine the best CP and stacking sequence for enhancing composite properties (flexural and impact properties) and reducing water absorption. The composites were manufactured in two steps using hand lay-up and press molding techniques. The first step involved fabricating N/G/UPE-2%CPs composites with a ratio of 8:14:78 (vol%) and a GNGGNG stacking sequence, referred to as type 1. In the second step, a composite with optimum properties obtained from type 1 was used as a reference and compared to composites with three different stacking sequences of GGNNGG, NGGGGN, and NNGGGG, known as type 2. The three-point bending, Charpy impact, and water absorption tests were conducted. The results revealed that the mechanical properties of N/G/UPE-2Al 2 O 3 and N/G/UPE-2ZnO composites are nearly identical and higher than the others. However, N/G/UPE-2Al 2 O 3 ′s water absorption is lower than that of N/G/UPE-2ZnO. These results suggest that the N/G/UPE-2Al 2 O 3 composite, with a GGNNGG stacking pattern and a flexural strength of 125.12 MPa, an impact strength of 84.2 kJ m −2 , and a low water absorption of 0.56%, could potentially serve as biomaterials.