Effect of adding SiC nano-particle on mechanical properties of the blend Epoxy/Polysulfide rubber reinforced with carbon and/or E-glass fibers

Abstract Epoxy is widely used in several contemporary industry sectors because of its advantageous mechanical attributes. However, its inherent brittleness necessitates the incorporation of other elements to enhance its mechanical capabilities. This work examined the impact of incorporating SiC Nano-Particles on the mechanical properties of a combination of epoxy and polysulfide rubber, which were reinforced with carbon and/or E-glass fibers. The fabrication of composite specimens was completed in a two-step process. In the beginning, epoxy is incorporated with 6% polysulfide rubber by weight. Then, SiC nanoparticles were added to the mixture at a weight fraction percentage ratio of 3% to the matrix. The composite produced in this investigation has three layers of fibers, namely glass fiber and carbon fiber, arranged in eight different stacking sequences. The mechanical characteristics and damping response of samples with different stacking sequences were evaluated using both numerical simulations using the ANSYS software and experimental testing. The analysis concluded that the Glass / Glass / Carbon (G/G/C) sequence is the most favorable choice with 10% and 8.5% increase in tensile compared to C/G/G and G/C/G respectively. Similarly, the G/G/C carbon has higher bending and fracture toughness with C/G/G (19% and 11%) and G/C/G 11.8% and 12.15%). Similarly, (The ANSYS software, experimental work, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach were used to determine the optimal sequence.