M.N.M. Ansari

A Review on Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite and Its Applications

Natural fibers are getting attention from researchers and academician to utilize in polymer composites due to their ecofriendly nature and sustainability. The aim of this review article is to provide a comprehensive review of the foremost appropriate as well as widely used natural fiber reinforced polymer composites (NFPCs) and their applications. In addition, it presents summary of various surface treatments applied to natural fibers and their effect on NFPCs properties. The properties of NFPCs vary with fiber type and fiber source as well as fiber structure. The effects of various chemical treatments on the mechanical and thermal properties of natural fibers reinforcements thermosetting and thermoplastics composites were studied. A number of drawbacks of NFPCs like higher water absorption, inferior fire resistance, and lower mechanical properties limited its applications. Impacts of chemical treatment on the water absorption, tribology, viscoelastic behavior, relaxation behavior, energy absorption flames retardancy, and biodegradability properties of NFPCs were also highlighted. The applications of NFPCs in automobile and construction industry and other applications are demonstrated. It concluded that chemical treatment of the natural fiber improved adhesion between the fiber surface and the polymer matrix which ultimately enhanced physicomechanical and thermochemical properties of the NFPCs.

Mechanical properties of graphene oxide (GO)/epoxy composites

Abstract In this study, the effects of graphene oxide (GO) on composites based on epoxy resin were analyzed. Different contents of GO (1.5–6 vol.%) were added to epoxy resin. The GO/epoxy composite was prepared using the casting method and was prepared under room temperature. Mechanical tests’ results such as tensile test, impact test and hardness test show enhancements of the mechanical properties of the GO/epoxy composite. The experimental results clearly show an improvement in the Young’s modulus, tensile strength and hardness. The impact strength was seen to decrease, pointing to brittleness increase of the GO/epoxy composite. A microstructure analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was also performed, which showed how GO impeded the propagation of cracks in the composite. From the SEM images we observed the interface between the GO and the epoxy composite. As can be seen from this research, the GO/epoxy composites can be used for a large number of applications. The results of this research are a strong evidence for GO/epoxy composites being a potential candidate for use in a variety of industrial applications, especially for automobile parts, aircraft components, and electronic parts such as supercapacitors, transistors, etc.

The Effect of Silane Coupling Agent on Mechanical Properties of Feldspar Filled Polypropylene Composites

The effect of silane coupling agent, 3-(aminopropyl) triethoxy silane (3-APE) on mechanical properties of feldspar filled polypropylene (PP) composites was investigated. Silane treated feldspar filled polypropylene composites were prepared using a Polydrive Thermo Haake internal melt mixer. The tensile strength, elongation at break, Young’s modulus, and impact strength were found to be increased in silane treated composites. The improvement in tensile strength and elongation at break was due to enhancement of the interfacial adhesion between feldspar and PP matrix. FTIR spectra analyses were performed on the untreated feldspar/PP composites and the silane treated feldspar filled PP composites to study the interaction between the polypropylene —(C—H2), feldspar (—OH) group and the amino functional group of silane.

Taguchi design optimization of machining parameters on the CNC end milling process of halloysite nanotube with aluminium reinforced epoxy matrix (HNT/Al/Ep) hybrid composite

Abstract This paper introduces the application of Taguchi optimization methodology in optimizing the cutting parameters of end-milling process for machining the halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) with aluminium reinforced epoxy hybrid composite material under dry condition. The machining parameters which are chosen to be evaluated in this study are the depth of cut (d), cutting speed (S) and feed rate (f). While, the response factors to be measured are the surface roughness of the machined composite surface and the cutting force. An orthogonal array of the Taguchi method was set-up and used to analyse the effect of the milling parameters on the surface roughness and cutting force. The result from this study shows that the application of the Taguchi method can determine the best combination of machining parameters that can provide the optimal machining response conditions which are the lowest surface roughness and lowest cutting force value. For the best surface finish, A1–B3–C3 (d = 0.4 mm, S = 1500 rpm, f = 60 mmpm) is found to be the optimized combination of levels for all the three control factors from the analysis. Meanwhile, the optimized combination of levels for all the three control factors from the analysis which provides the lowest cutting force was found to be A2–B2–C2 (d = 0.6 mm, S = 1000 rpm, f = 40 mmpm).

Effect of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes on Mechanical Properties of Feldspar Filled Polypropylene Composites

In this study, the effect of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) reinforcement on mechanical and morphological properties of MWCNT reinforced feldspar/polypropylene composites was investigated. The composites were compounded in a Polydrive Thermo Haake R600 internal mixer at 180°C and at 50 rpm of rotor speed. Polyethylene co-acrylic acid (PEAA) was used as a processing aid in this study. The structure and dimensions of the MWCNTs were characterized using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The tensile strength, elongation at break, Young’s modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and impact strength increased with the addition of 0.1 wt% of MWCNT. The morphology and degree of dispersion of the MWCNTs in the feldspar/PP composites at different MWCNT loading was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results indicate that MWCNTs are well distributed and dispersed in feldspar/PP composites particularly at low filler loading, i.e., 0.1 wt%.

FEM to predict the effect of feed rate on surface roughness with cutting force during face milling of titanium alloy

Abstract Finite element modeling (FEM) is considered a famous method belonging to the numerical simulation methods. First it is a dominant technique in structural mechanics. Hence, this paper is focused on the effect of feed rate (f) on surface roughness (Ra) and cutting force components (Fc, Ft) during the face-milling operation of the titanium alloy (Ti–6Al–4V). The design of experiments was used to conduct the experiments to evaluate the effect of the feed rate on the machining responses such as surface roughness and cutting force components using a face milling operation during the cutting process of the titanium alloy (Ti–6Al–4V). The tests are performed at several feed rates (f) while the axial depth of the cut and cutting speed remain constant in dry cutting conditions. The results showed that one could predict the surface roughness by measuring the feed cutting force instead of directly measuring the surface roughness experimentally through using the finite element method to build the model and to predict the surface roughness from the values of the feed cutting force. This is because a similar trend was found between the surface roughness and feed cutting force. Therefore, constructing a prediction model via finite element modeling (FEM) led to the conclusion that we can estimate feed cutting force and thus surface roughness.

Effect of Compatibilisers on Mechanical Properties of Feldspar/Polypropylene Composites

The effect of compatibilisers on mechanical, water absorption and morphological properties of feldspar/PP composites was investigated. Two types of compatibilisers namely; polyethylene co-acrylic acid (PEAA) and PP grafted-maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH) were used in this study. The processability of the composites improved with the addition of PEAA and PP-g-MAH. The tensile strength, elongation at break, Youngs modulus and impact strength increased with the presence of both compatibilisers. Morphological investigation using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the improvement in tensile strength and elongation at break was due to enhancement of the interfacial adhesion between feldspar and PP. Less percentage of water absorption was observed in feldspar/PP composites with PP-g-MAH than the feldspar/PP composites with PEAA and control composites (without compatibilizers).

Review on the Effects of Process Parameters on Strength, Shrinkage, and Warpage of Injection Molding Plastic Component

ABSTRACT Injection molding process causes differences between designed shape and real parts, all of them associated to shrinkage and warpage phenomena. Temperature, pressure distribution, and other injection parameters during molding process originate local shrinkage and the internal stresses depending on the relative stiffness of each part area. The aim of this work is to review and report the influence of injection molding process parameters on the postmolded strength, shrinkage, and warpage of injection molded parts. It is also to investigate the influence of injection molding process parameters on the postmolding shrinkage and warping of parts made of polypropylenes. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Effect of halloysite nanotubes loading on thermo-mechanical and morphological properties of polyurethane nanocomposites

Abstract Halloysite-(0.1, 0.5.1.0, 1.5, 2.0 wt%) polyurethane (PU-HNT) nanocomposites were synthesised. Mechanical, thermal, water absorption and morphological properties of PU and its relevant PU-HNT nanocomposites were studied. Scanning electron microscope images of PU and PU-HNT-fractured surfaces show cracks and agglomeration at 1·0 wt.% HNT. The thermomechanical properties of the PU-HNT nanocomposites have improved up to 1·0 wt.% HNT; however, they were adversely affected by more HNT loading. Despite this reduction, the mechanical properties are still better than that of neat PU. The mechanical strength increased as HNT content was up to 1·0 wt.%. Tensile, flexural, and impact strength of the PU-HNT nanocomposite were found to be 11·78 MPa, 128·15 MPa, and 5·57 × 103 J mm−2, respectively, at 1·0 wt.% HNT. Thermal studies showed that thermal stability and crystallisation temperature of the PU-HNT nanocomposite increased compared to that of PU. The loss modulus curves showed that pure PU crystallises at 126°C and at 129 for PU -0·1 wt.% of HNT. PU-TGA rises with increasing loading from 0·1 to 2·0 wt.%. The water absorption of the PU-HNT nanocomposite has shown moisture in PU-2·0 nanocomposite in 21-day treatment.

Recent Advances in Polyurethane-Based Nanocomposites: A Review

ABSTRACT This review addresses recent advances in polyurethane-based nanocomposites. It focuses on the enhancement of mechanical, electrical, thermal, acoustic, chemical, shape memory, and viscoelastic properties of the existing polyurethane using nanoparticles or fiber materials and it is also directed to analyze the potential of incorporating these hybrid polymer composites’ applications. Research on hybrid polymer composites has increased in recent years due to the inherence properties of mixing two or more constituents to reinforce the base material properties. From the discussion in this paper, we can see that polyurethane-based nanocomposite can be modified to suit various applications. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT