Tensile and fracture toughness properties of alumina trihydrate filled epoxy resins
- Kingston Univ., Surrey (United Kingdom)
Certain non-halogen fire retardants such as alumina trihydrate (ATH) are effective in organic matrix composite materials only when they constitute a very high volume fraction of the total material and therefore have major effects on mechanical properties. ATH particles have weak cleavage planes and are easily fractured; their effects are rather different from those of stronger fillers. This paper is concerned with the importance of various particle characteristics, especially size distribution, in ATH filled epoxy resin castings. Tensile strength, modulus, and elongation were measured, and fracture parameters were also determined as a function of filler volume fraction for various grades. Surface treatment reduced the modulus of filled resins, except for ATH particles produced by a precipitation process. The changes were nevertheless broadly consistent with those predicted by published equations such as the Nielsen equation. The size of the largest particles had a major effect on strength and elongation. The strength typically fell to 35% of the strength of the unfilled epoxy resin, for volume fractions of 0.45 approximately, as predicted by Nicolais and Schrager equations.
- OSTI ID:
- 143600
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-930246--; ISBN 0-87339-251-5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Fractal character of crack propagation in epoxy and epoxy composites as revealed by photon emission during fracture
Improvement of fracture toughness of epoxy resins at cryogenic temperature