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Nano‐/Microscale Investigation of Tribological and Mechanical Properties of Epoxy/MWNT Nanocomposites
Author(s) -
Ayatollahi Majid Reza,
DoagouRad Saeed,
Shadlou Shahin
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201100271
Subject(s) - materials science , nanoindentation , composite material , nanocomposite , epoxy , tribology , microscale chemistry , nano , agglomerate , modulus , scanning electron microscope , dispersion (optics) , optics , physics , mathematics education , mathematics
The effects of MWNT content and aspect ratio on the properties of epoxy‐based nanocomposites are investigated using nanoindentation and nanoscratch methods. The Halpin‐Tsai model for predicting the elastic modulus and hardness is modified to include the effective aspect ratio factor. The modified model predicts the experimental results more accurately. The frictional behavior is investigated and a new equation is proposed that correlates the ploughing friction with the plasticity index. The dispersion state of MWNTs and the surface features of residual grooves are investigated using scanning electron micrographs and AFM profiles. The mechanisms of improvements in the properties are also discussed.