Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Epoxy Nano Composites for High Voltage Applications

Abstract

The tribological and mechanical properties of organomodified montmorillonite (oMMT)-incorporated Epoxy (Epoxy-oMMT), vinyl ester (vinyl ester-oMMT) and titanium dioxide (TiO2)-filled Epoxy (Epoxy-TiO2) nanocomposites are discussed below. Implications of introducing oMMT and TiO2 nanoparticles on mechanical and dry sliding wear properties are presented using micrographs of cast samples and through observations of wear affected surface of nanocomposites. Distribution of nanoparticles and their influence on properties are being emphasized for under- standing the wear properties. The data on mechanical and tribological properties determined experimentally are compared with published literature. The main focus is to highlight the importance of nanofillers in the design of wear-resistant thermo- set polymer composites. A detailed study of strength and moduli of Epoxy-oMMT, Epoxy-TiO2 and vinyl ester-oMMT nanocomposites was taken up as a part of the investigation. A discussion on density, hardness, tensile, flexural test data, and friction and wear of nanocomposites and analysis of results by comparison with prevalent theoretical models and published results of experiments are presented.