Effect of Nanoclay on Thermomechanical Properties of Epoxy/Glass Fibre Composites

This study investigates the effects of nanoclay on the mechanical properties and fire performance of epoxy/ glass fibre composites. The cone calorimeter test in a horizontal configuration is used as the bench-scale test to determine the heat and smoke production from samples with nanoclay contents ranging from 1 to 5 wt%. All the samples are produced by a vacuum infusion process. Pristine nanoclay is treated with an organic surfactant before adding it to the mixture in the designed procedure. The results show that a low percentage of less than 3 wt% nanoclay produces a scattered nanoparticle dispersion and, therefore, is insufficient for char formation. The combustion of the organic surfactant in nanoclay and the polymeric resin also outperform the effect of nanoclay at this level. At 5 wt% nanoclay replacement, a delay of 7 s in heat release rate, 45 % lower peak of heat release rate, 15 % lower total heat release, and 15 % lower smoke production rate are observed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the samples with varied organophilic clay concentration taken before and after the cone tests are presented to reveal the distribution of clay nanoparticles in the composite samples. The mechanical properties such as ultimate strength, Young's modulus of the nanoclay-enhanced composite are acquired from standard tensile test to determine the influences of clay content.