Evaluating the mechanical characteristics and thermogravimetric analysis of glass fiber/epoxy composites with copper, graphene, and aluminum nanofillers

This study compares three different types of nanofillers incorporated into glass fiber-reinforced epoxy, graphene nanoplatelet, aluminum (Al), and copper (Cu). The study assesses how adding these three-nm types of nanofillers to glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites enhances their thermal decomposition and mechanical characteristics. The hand lay-up method was used to fabricate the composites. The volume percentage of glass fiber was maintained at 35% while 0.5 wt % of graphene nanoplatelets, Al, and Cu nanoparticles were introduced. To achieve even dispersion of the nanofillers throughout the epoxy resin, they were mixed with the resin and then dispersed by an ultrasonic processor. Surface morphology and thermal decomposition of the manufactured composites were examined using a scanning electron microscope and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. The results showed that adding graphene nanoplatelet produced a maximum enhancement of 21.7%, and 11.2% in the tensile strength and tensile strain. An enhancement of 1.3%, 60.8%, and 25.9% in flexural strength was obtained with adding Al, Cu, and graphene nanoplatelet, respectively, as compared to the control. Furthermore, an enhancement of 26%, 16.7%, and 28.3% in flexural strain was obtained with incorporation of Al, Cu, and graphene nanoplatelet, respectively. Thus, the thermal decomposition and mechanical parameters, such as tensile, flexural, wear resistance, and hardness of the nanomodified composites, were improved compared to glass fiber-reinforcement epoxy without any filler.