Optimization of process parameters towards the manufacturing of twill woven Glass /Epoxy -nano clay composite through hand-layup technique

Abstract

-The Twill structured Glass woven matt was prepared through weaving process to produce the nanocomposite material along with the epoxy(SC-15) matrix component with the additional montmorillonite based nanoclay reinforcement structure. Different weight percentages of nanoclay was mixed such as 1.5%,2.5% and 3.5 % ,so as to analyse the effects of nanocaly particle enforcement on tensile properties of the composites. Sonication process was utilized to produce the thorough mixture of nanoclay and epoxy resin. The nanophased epoxy was then used to manufacture twill woven Glass/epoxy nanocomposites using hand-layup process. A 3-factor,3-level Box-Behnken design was used to derive a second order polynomial equation and construct contour plots to predict responses. The independent variable of this research was percentage of nanoclay content, woven matt areal density (g/m2 ) and resin stirrer speed(rpm).The SEM and XRD analysis was done to understand the nanoclay dispersion on the matrix and fracture analysis. It is concluded that up to 3.5% concentration of nano-clay composition the tensile strength of the composite increasing after that the strength would be decreased due to agglomeration of nanoclay structures