Effect of Graphite Particulate on Mechanical Properties of Glass Fiber Reinforced Composite

Abstract

Glass fiber reinforced composites has been used in a variety of applications because of their various advantages such as a relatively low cost of production, easy to fabricate and superior strength compares to neat polymer resins Synthetic. Glass fiber has high specific strength. In this connection, an investigation has been carried out to make better utilization of graphite powder for making value added products The present work describes the development and mechanical characterization of new composites consisting of glass fiber reinforcement, epoxy resin and filler materials such as graphite powder. The newly developed composites are characterized by their mechanical properties. Experiments like a tensile test, three-point bending, and compressive test were conducted to find the significant influence of filler material on mechanical characteristics of GFP composites. The tests result have shown that higher the filler material volume percentage greater the strength for graphite powder filled glass fiber epoxy composites. A multi-criteria decision-making approach called TOPSIS is also used to select the best alternative from a set of alternatives. Also, the surface morphology of fractured surfaces after tensile testing is examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).