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A new, hybrid polymer composites were fabricated with random oriented e-glass
fiber in unsaturated polyester resin matrix. Titanium oxide (TiO2) was used as reinforcement
material and kept 10 wt.% constant. The fiber content was varied as 20 wt.%, 25 wt.%,
30 wt.%, 35 wt.%, and 40 wt.%. Unsaturated polyester resin was used as bonding agent. The
composites were prepared with two different fiber lengths of 3 cm and 5 cm by hand layup
method. Experiments were conducted to determine tensile strength, impact strength, hardness
and chemical resistance. The results showed that the combined reinforcement effect yield the
better mechanical properties with increased fiber length and particulate material. The
chemical resistance of the composites was analyzed by weight loss method. It was found that
the chemical resistance was more pronounced in 5 cm fiber length composites. The SEM
image observation of the cross section has found the pull effect to cause the defect of the fiber
in the polyester resin matrix.
Keywords: hybrid composites; titanium oxide (TiO2); unsaturated polyester resin; mechanical properties; chemical resistance |
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