Engineering HDR Seminar Series No.10, 2015

9 February 2015, 14:30

Room 5403

Epoxy resins are widely used in heavy-duty parts in automotive, aerospace and electronics industries due to their very high mechanical, thermal and chemical properties. However, improvement the impact resistance-as the major failure mechanism of inherently brittle epoxies- without affecting other favorable properties and affordable processing and production has been remained still a big challenge. Recently, halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) have been studied as a new type of reinforcing filler for polymers with unique characteristics, easy process and cheaper costs, which could drastically increase the impact toughness of epoxies. Moreover, the presence of lumen space inside the HNTs enables them to encapsulate chemicals. This space might be used as a nano-container for healing agent, for self-healing of the cracks formed in epoxy matrix. In this study, the effects of various processing parameters such as mixing methods (ultrasonication and mechanical mixing), curing system and types of halloysite on the rheological, curing and impact behavior of epoxy nanocomposites reinforced with HNTs was studied and it was shown that to get the full benefit of HNTs as reinforcing nanofiller, the proper design of process and material is of crucial importance. An effective modification of HNTs by bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA) and γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) was explored trough NaOH treatment to functionalize HNTs’ surface and enhance their interaction with epoxy. Contact details: Wan Nurul Rukiah Wan Rasdi wan.nurul@monash.edu@eng.monash.edu.my Tel: 03-55146224