Volume 4 Issue 1
Authors: Narendra Kumar Attili; Ch Siva RamaKrishna
Abstract: Composite materials play a vital role in many industrial applications. Researchers are working on fabrication of new composite materials worldwide to enhance the applicability of these materials. In view of this the mechanical performance of the composite material is essential. The objective of the present work is to analyze the effect of silica powder content on the mechanical behavior of chopped strand mat 450 GM-Glass fiber reinforced. Five different types of composites are fabricated using 0%wt, 5%wt, 10%wt, 15%wt and 20%wt of silica powder with Chopped Strand Mat-E glass fiber and polyester resin. The polyester resin, catalyst and accelerator are mixed in 50:1:1 weight ratio in polyester matrix with silica powder. The aim of the project is to investigate the effect of silica powder with chopped strand mat 450GM for making the composite material stronger and tougher. The investigation is carried out by mixing different weight percentages of the powder with the polyester resin and preparing individual samples. After CSM preparation, the materials were properly mixed using the hand-lay techniques and different specimens were prepared with different compositions of the silica powder. After all the samples were prepared, mechanical tests were carried out on the samples to ascertain the changes observed due to the composition of silica powder. The obtained results of various samples specimens were compared and graphically charted to characterize the new composite material.
Keywords: Chopped Strand Mat (CSM) 450 GM-Glass Fiber; Silica Powder; Polyester Resin; Hand- Lay; Catalyst; Accelerator