A comparative study on the effect of nano seashell, multiwall carbon nanotubes and nano alumina on mechanical and impact properties of bidirectional Kevlar/epoxy composite

Abstract The use of composite materials is becoming more widespread by the day. Composite materials are used in a variety of vital applications including aerospace, defense and marine. As a result, it is critical to investigate the mechanical and impact properties of these material-based components. Testing of these materials can provide information such as Ultimate Tensile Strength, Impact Strength, and modulus of elastic allowing their application to be better understood. It has been observed that symmetric laminates produce better results. Because of the presence of stiff filler material, the infusion of nanofillers changed the material failure behavior from ductile to brittle. In this comparative study, an attempt has been made in investigating the improvements in the material behavior of neat Kevlar along with the infusion of nano additives like alumina, seashell and MWCNT in varying proportions. Based on the obtained experimental values, graphs were plotted to demonstrate the variation of properties when these infusions were made. There is a significant improvement in the modulus values of the material, Ultimate tensile strength and Impact strength after the incorporation of the nano additives. The Ultimate Tensile Strength was improved by 0.32% in Alumina 1% + 0.25% wt. MWCNT, 21% improvement was found in Alumina 3% + 0.25% wt. MWCNT and 28.86% improvement in alumina 6 % + 0.25% wt. MWCNT compared to neat aramid fiber composite specimen. For the combination of seashell + MWCNT, it is also found that Ultimate Tensile Strength is considerably improved. It was observed that, that there is a 15.96% improvement in Seashell 1% + 0.25% wt. MWCN, 21% improvement in Seashell 3% + 0.25% wt. MWCNT and 29.78% improvement in Seashell 7% + 0.25% wt. MWCNT compared to neat aramid fiber composite specimen. The impact strength was evaluated by performing Charpy Impact Test (ASTMD 256). It was found that there is a 12% improvement in Seashell 1% + 0.25% wt. MWCNT, for Seashell 2% + 0.25% wt. MWCNT, there is a 50% increment in the Impact Strength value. It is also seen that impact properties have significantly improved when the combination of Alumina + MWCNT was infused. There is a 23.072% rise in Alumina 1% + 0.25% wt. MWCNT and 56.83% improvement in Alumina 3% + 0.25% wt. MWCNT compared to its neat aramid fiber composite specimen.