Investigating the impact performance of glass/epoxy composites filled with silane-treated aluminum hydroxide

<h2>Abstract</h2> This study investigated the effect of silane coupling agent Dynasylan® Glymo (DG) treated aluminum hydroxide fillers on the mechanical performance of glass/epoxy composites. The composite fabrication was done in three stages, i.e., treatment of aluminum hydroxide fillers with silane coupling agent, dispersion of these treated fillers in resin to get a stable suspension, and application of the suspension on glass fabric reinforcement to fabricate the composite by compression molding. To prepare composites, the fraction of treated and non-treated aluminum hydroxide fillers was varied (0, 5, 10, and 15 %). The low-velocity impact test was conducted on developed samples using a Charpy impact tester and a Drop-weight impact tester. The 10 % aluminum hydroxide fillers treated with 1 wt% DG exhibited the best impact performance. The Charpy impact strength of this sample was 110.75 kJ/m² compared to 52.21 kJ/m² for composites without fillers. The cross-sectional view also showed minimum failures in this sample compared to others. Similarly, in the case of the drop weight test, this composite underwent the highest peak force of 2030 N compared to 1092 N for the composite without filler. The results validate that silane treatment of particles has helped to enhance the interfacial adhesion, thus contributing to improved impact performance. These composites have potential applications for luggage bags, as a replacement for conventional plastics, offering functional properties as well as durability and lightweight.