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Volume 10, Issue 03, March 2019, pp. 1263–1274, Article ID: IJMET_10_03_129
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=3
ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359
Nagaraja Shetty*
Assistant Professor-Senior Scale, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE),
Manipal- 576 104, Karnataka, India
ABSTRACT
Epoxy has been often used with reinforcements due to its brittle nature. Various
reinforcing agents have provided a multitude of composites with their own unique
characteristics. Graphene is perhaps one of the most inspiring discoveries in the field
of science and technology since its potential applications are limitless due to its
admirable properties. It is basically an allotrope of carbon, a single layer of atoms
bonded in a honeycomb lattice. Among the various other nano fillers, graphene has
been used as reinforce epoxy which is then further strengthened with alumina.
Composites have been designed and redesigned throughout the years, developing more
and more advanced materials for engineering applications. But there’s always a need
for a material with higher performance at lower cost in every aspect of technology. The
aim of this review is to put forth information regarding the materials used for developing
a hybrid composite using alumina, graphene and epoxy. This is done in order to boost
the performance of the existing epoxy resin, which will be then tested for its mechanical
characteristics. The result of the experiment will be compared with a standard specimen
consisting of graphene and epoxy. The materials and their properties, along with tests
conducted on them are covered in this paper.
Key words: Alumina, Epoxy, Graphene, Mechanical properties, Nanocomposite,
Synthesis.
Cite this Article: Divakara Shetty S and Nagaraja Shetty, A Literature Review on
Processing and Testing of Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Composites Using
Graphene/Epoxy with Alumina, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and
Technology 10(3), 2019, pp. 1263–1274.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=3
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Composites
Composites consist of fibers which serve as the backbone, and matrix, which holds the fibers
together. The advantages of composites are their high strength and stiffness, along with low
density which results in reduced weight of the component (Madhujit, 2005). Every combination
doesn’t work out and each combination of materials has its own pros and cons. That’s why
research on composites will never come to a halt. The main composition of a composite consists
of a matrix and reinforcement. Reinforcement can be of different types. Based on their shapes,
they can be fibers, particulate, flakes, skeletal or laminar. Considering the direction and
placement of fibers, reinforcement can also be classified as continuous fiber composite, woven
fiber composite, chopped fiber composite and hybrid composite (Agarwal, 2018; Vijay et al.,
2017).
There are 5 forms of composites, namely, Polymer Matrix Composites (PMCs), Metal
Matrix Composites (MMCs), Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs), Carbon-Carbon (CC) and
Hybrid Composites (HCs) which is a combination of the earlier mentioned composite types.
According to studies, the most prominently used fibers in 2001 were glass fibers. E-glass fibers
were the most commonly used glass fibers and accounted for 90% of the total glass fibers used.
S-glass fibers constituted the rest 10% and are typically 50-70% stronger than E-glass fibers,
which made them the ideal reinforcement in military applications. Recent years have seen a lot
of changes in composites. Aramid fibers and carbon are two other types of fibers which are
growing in popularity and usage due to their excellent properties and feasibility. Matrix is the
binding material which holds the fiber together in the composite, providing it support and
protection (Madhujit, 2005). It also helps to evenly distribute the load that falls on the composite
onto the fibers. Some of the most commonly used matrix materials are epoxy, polyester, nylon,
PVC and polyethylene. A comparison between their properties is shown in Table 1.
Where, Et and Ec are the moduli of elasticity for tensile and compression respectively, σt
and σc are the ultimate strengths, v is the Poisson’s ratio and α is the coefficient of thermal
expansion.
1.2. Synthesis
Fabrication of composites involves wetting, mixing or saturating the reinforcement with the
matrix. This causes the matrix to stick together and become rigid. There are multiple techniques
to fabricating a composite. The type of materials used for the composite also is a factor in
determining the process of fabrication. Some of the prominent techniques used for fabricating
the composite are:
The Lamination technique is usually used for materials like glass fiber, wood, foil and
plastic which are coated with thermoset or thermoplastic resin. There are 4 types of lamination
techniques – the overlay method, vacuum bagging, pressure molds and hybrid method. Picking
a technique for fabricating a composite depends on the number of identical products you need,
how much time can be allotted for the fabrication, and the cost of production (Sanjay 2001).
Pultrusion is a closed mold, continuous process that is very cost effective for high volumes
of production. This technique mainly deals with parts which have a constant cross section. As
shown in Figure 1, the this process is generally contains pulling of continuous fibers through a
bath of resin, blended with a catalyst and then into pre-forming fixtures where the section is
partially pre-shaped & excess resin is removed. It is then passed through a heated die, which
determines the sectional geometry and finish of the final product (Joshi, 2012)
2. GRAPHENE
Carbon has many allotropes, some that were discovered long ago (diamond and graphite) and
some discovered 10-20 years ago (fullerenes and nanotubes). Interestingly, the two-
dimensional form (graphene) was only obtained very recently, bringing about a great deal of
change in our current science (Mikhail, 2007). Graphene has a number of remarkable
mechanical and electrical properties. It is significantly stronger than steel, and it is very flexible.
The thermal and electrical conductivity is very high. Graphene’s excellent thermal, mechanical,
and electronic properties make it one of the most favored materials for filling agents in
composite materials and its applications. Graphene nanocomposites show substantial
enhancements in their multifunctional aspects at low loading, in comparison with conventional
composites and materials (Vivek Dhand et al., 2013). This makes the material lighter with
simple processing, as well as increasing mechanical strength for various applications. Figure 2,
shows an interpretation of graphene's uniform structure at the molecular scale
Chen et al. (2008) fabricated graphene paper with a layered structure using vacuum filtration
of well-dispersed graphene dispersion. This was then treated to thermal annealing that resulted
in greater electrical conductivity and mechanical properties (Chen et al., 2008). Tests conducted
by Changgu Lee. et al. (2008) reveal some interesting values when monolayer graphene was
tested for its elastic properties and intrinsic strength. The breaking strength was found to be 42
Nm-1, Young’s modulus of 1 terapascal, inherent strength of 130 GPa and 3rd order elastic
stiffness of -2 terapascals. The fact that graphene is one of the strongest, if not the strongest
material, to have been measured, was set in stone (Changgu Lee. et al., 2008). A study
conducted by M. A. Rafiee et al. (2009) consisted of measurement of mechanical properties of
nanocomposites at low graphene content. The results showed that the Young’s modulus of the
nanocomposite was around 31% more than pristine epoxy, 40% increase in tensile strength and
53% increase in fracture toughness. This stands to prove graphene’s claim as one of the most
exciting material discovered yet (Rafiee et al., 2009). Diana Berman et al. added small amounts
of ethanol solution which contained graphene onto sliding steel surfaces. This resulted in
reduction of friction coefficient and wear by a huge amount, thus concluding graphene
incorporation to reduce wear is very efficient (Diana Berman et al., 2013). Lee et al. (2013)
adopted cryomilling to fabricate tiny particulate graphene and chitosan. A composite material
was formed when a mixture of these two were formed by sonication and reinforcement. The
graphene particles exhibited a progressive nature which resulted in development of the
mechanical properties of the composite. A decrease in lumping of graphene while mixing was
also seen (Lee et al., 2013).
3. EPOXY
Epoxy resins are well known for their excellent electrical properties and chemical resistance,
high strength and low moisture absorption (Allaoui et al., 2002). They are particularly known
for their versatility, which includes high resistance to corrosion, good adhesion properties, good
strength to weight ratios and decent dimensional stability. Resins usually have relatively high
viscosity, thus they are molded at 50°-100° (Arita et al., 2012). Curing agents (hardeners) are
used to reduce viscosity so that lamination at room temperature is possible. Epoxies are
frequently used in aerospace and defense, chemical plants and high performance automotive
applications.
According to Reis et al. (2012), increasing the temperature of epoxy leads to significant loss in
flexural strength. Thus it can be concluded that flexural strength varies inversely with
temperature (Reis et al., 2012). Nakamura et al. conducted an experiment to determine the
influence of particle size on mechanical and impact properties of epoxy resin filled with
spherical silica. It was concluded that flexural strength, tensile strength and impact absorbed
energy increases with decrease in particle size (Nakamura et al., 1992). Some of the mechanical
properties of epoxy resin are cited in Table 2. It is observed from the Table 2 that the values,
epoxy’s mechanical properties aren’t very exceptional and contribute to its brittleness in solid
state.
Table 2 Mechanical properties of epoxy (Fan et al., 2007; Zhang et al., 2015; Ghaemy and Riahi,
1996).
Properties of Epoxy Resin
Properties Epoxy
Modulus of Elasticity E (GPa) 5.0
Flexural Strength (MPa) 60
Tensile Strength (MPa) 73
Maximum Elongation (%) 4
Viscosity at 25°C (cP) 12000-13000
3
Density (g/cm ) 1.16
4. ALUMINA
Alumina is also an abundantly available mineral in earth’s crust, apart from silicates. Corundum
is the most common naturally occurring crystalline form of aluminum oxide. It appears in nature
as rocks which are then ground into fine powder as shown in Figure 4. Due to its hardness, it is
used as an abrasive in the production of aluminum metal, and because of its high melting point,
it is also used as a refractory material.
Some of the properties of alumina include hardness and wear resistance, excellent dielectric
properties from DC to GHz frequencies, good thermal conductivity, and high strength and
stiffness. It also resists strong acid and alkali attack at high temperatures. Table 3 shows some
of alumina’s thermal properties.
Table 3 Thermal properties of alumina (Patnaik, 2002; Raymond C Rowe et al., 2009; Zumdahl &
Steven, 2009).
Properties of Alumina Powder
Properties Value
Melting Point 2072°C
Boiling Point 2977°C
Thermal Conductivity 30Wm-1k-1
Density 248.463mg/m3
Specific Heat 0.739035J/kg.k
Alumina has numerous applications in day-to-day life. It is used as fillers in plastics and is
also a common ingredient in cosmetics (Draelos, 2012). It has chemical applications as a
catalyst for many reactions (Faure et al., 2011). It is used to purify gas streams by removing
water, and the crystals of aluminum oxide are also used as abrasives in sandpaper. Due to its
shiny appearance, it is also used in paints for a reflective decorative effect. Aluminum oxide is
an electrical insulator used as a substrate (silicon on sapphire) for integrated circuits but also as
a tunnel barrier for the fabrication of superconducting devices such as single electron transistors
and superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) (Hussain et al., 2003; Ahmad et
al., 2006).
5. CONCLUSIONS
This study shows the properties of graphene, epoxy and alumina in base form. The properties
are then checked for compatibility for fabrication of a hybrid nano composite using these
materials. Epoxy by itself when hardened, is very brittle and has properties which can be largely
improved upon by incorporating other materials into it. This allows for the formation of an
excellent composite with potential use for multitude of applications.
Considering graphene, Figure 5 shows that the highest application of graphene is in
electronics, namely, batteries, electrodes in touch screens, transistors for integrated circuits, and
memory chips. This is due to its excellent electrical properties, lightweight and flexibility. Its
applications in biomedical field include fast and efficient biometric sensory devices to monitor
glucose levels, cholesterol and hemoglobin levels. This review covers the possible applications
of the composite to be fabricated, in aerospace, military and automotive. While research on
graphene is still ongoing, its potential applications in every sector are limitless.
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