Fabrication and Characterisation of Nano-Additive Reinforced Polymeric Composites

In this study, graphitised multi-walled carbon nanotubes (GMWCNT) and graphitised carbon nanofibers (GCNF) are used to reinforce high impact polystyrene (HIPS) as base material for fabricating two-phase and three-phase nano-additive reinforced composites (GMWCNT-HIPS and GMWCNT-GCNF-HIPS) with improved material properties. Three weight fractions of nano-additives, i.e. 1, 3 and 5 wt%, are selected to investigate the influence of the nano-additive weight fractions on the material properties and mechanical behaviours of the devised nanocomposites which are fabricated using moulding injection in lab as standard ASTM samples. These samples are then employed for further mechanical tests including uniaxial tension and four-point bending tests. A microstructural analysis of the samples is conducted to determine the microstructure of these nanocomposites, in particular for the interfacial zone of nano-additives and base material. Finally, a finite element analysis is developed and applied for modelling the uniaxial tension and four point bending and conducting a parametric study as a material design tool. The obtained results show that the mechanical properties of the resultant composites are significantly influenced by the weight fractions of nano-additives.