the following is an introduction to a scientific research on composites
write a summary to cover key points.
"fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites (FRPMC)
have achieved a significant leap in recent years, thanks to
their properties such as superior strength, corrosion resistance, low densities, and high stiffness.1–3 FRPMCs are
generally produced on the basis of epoxy hardening of
artificial fibers such as carbon, glass, and aramid or natural fibers such as jute, flax, and hemp.
Recently, Research on the FRPMC has transitioned
from the initial feasibility phases to further property and
performance enhancing stages for applications in aviation,
automotive, sports equipment, implant material, and structural material.4,5 An example of such attempts is the addition of nano-sized ceramic particles for improving
mechanical properties.6 A wide range of ceramic nanoparticle constituents has been attempted including clay, alumina, silicon carbide, graphene, magnesium, hydroxide,
calcium carbonate, talc, mica, carbon black, bone powder,
silicon dioxide, coconut powder, graphite, zinc sulfide, and
so forth.7 As for the structural definition, nanocomposites
consist of at least two separate phases one being dispersed
in the other.8 Nanocomposites are produced with three different types of reinforcement elements: particle, sheet, and
fiber. Nanocomposites have better properties than conventional composites for having a high area/volume ratio. The
primary characteristic achieved with such a compositing
method is the acquisition of higher matrix/reinforcement
interface areas compared to the conventional composites.
Additionally, in contrast to conventional composites of this
class, engineering efforts on the matrix renders the matrix
to have significantly improved mechanical properties
owing to the addition of nano-particles.9–11
Silicon carbide, consisting of carbon and silicon elements, is produced synthetically and is not found in nature
as a compound. It is used as one of the abrasive materials
due to its high hardness feature.12,13 Selection criteria are
majorly satisfied by low density (3.10–3.20 g/cm3
), high
hardness (HV10 ≥ 22 GPa), high thermal conductivity
(126 W/mK), high melting temperature (2730C). From the
stability perspective, neither salty acidic or basic solutions
nor organic solutions pose a risk to silicon carbide chemically. On the other hand, silicon carbide has high thermal
conductivity and low thermal expansion coefficient resulting in excellent thermal shock resistance.14
Graphite is commonly found in nature, formed by the
overlapping of carbon atoms in two-dimensional planes.
One of these overlapping plates is called graphene (Gr).15
This two-dimensional hexagonal form of carbon atoms is
an example of the only two-dimensional material found in
nature. In addition, this gives Gr extraordinary properties.
It exhibits the ability to stretch easily and adhere well to
the surface of the material in many different forms.16,17
Some properties of Gr are as follows: monolayer,
two-dimensional, true density 2.25 (g/cm3
), modulus of
elasticity about 1 (TPa), high electrical conductivity, good
optical transmittance, high thermal conductivity.18
According to the literature review, it has been
observed that there are very few studies on combining
carbon fiber reinforced composites, which are used in
many fields, with SiC and Gr using vacuum infusion
technique. In this study, the effects of SiC and Gr filler
ratio and filler type on the mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced polymer matrix composite materials
were investigated.
Kadhim et al.19 produced nanocomposites by adding
alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles with dimensions of about
50 nm to the epoxy. Nanoparticles in composites were used
at contents of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 wt%. Three point bending tests revealed that the maximum flexural strength was
the highest for 4 wt% and the modulus of elasticity
increased continuously up to 7%. In another study, Liang
et al.20 modified the nanofiller on the surface of unidirectional glass fiber and produced vinyl ester composites with
alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles (0.5, 1, and 2 wt%. addition).
It was observed that the tensile and flexural strengths of
the composites were positively affected, and the best results
were obtained at 1 wt% nanoparticle content. Khan et al.21
investigated the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy nanocomposites by
adding 0, 1, 3, and 5 wt% nanoclay. The fracture toughness
of the samples was measured by the Charpy effect and
quasi-static tensile tests. Impact fracture toughness was
found to be highest when 3 wt% nanoclay was added to the
composites. In addition, it was observed that the fracture
toughness tended to decrease in cases where the nanoclay
was added high in content. Another study with nanoclay
was conducted by Sivasaravanan et al.22 Composites were
produced by hand lay-up technique using nanoclay contents of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 wt%. Charpy and izod impact tests
were performed on the composites based on ASTM D256.
Results showed that the epoxy composites containing 5 wt
% nanoclay content gave the best results in the impact test.
As for the nano SiO2, Afrouzian et al.23 added nano
0, 0.5, 1, and 3 wt% SiO2 particles to two-dimensional
knitted glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. Samples
were characterized based on tensile, bending, and transverse loading tests. Results showed that while the energy
absorption ability and tensile strength of the 0.5 wt%
SiO2 based composites were maximum, the maximum
flexural strength was seen for 3 wt% SiO2. Haque et al.24
produced composites by adding 1% nano silicate to glass
fiber reinforced composite and reported that an increase
in the maximum toughness value by 23% and the bending strength by 24% was observed. Erklig et al.25 studied
carbon and kevlar fiber hybrid reinforced nano silica
2 KOSEDAG ET AL.
 15480569, 0, Downloaded from https://4spepublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pc.27720 by Erciyes University, Wiley Online Library on [11/09/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
filled composites. Composites were prepared by adding
nanoparticles to the epoxy resin in some weight fractions
(0.5, 1, 1.5, 2.5, and 3 wt%) and these were subjected to
bending and tensile tests. As a result of the bending test,
they observed an increase in the flexural strength up to
1.5% of particle ratio, and a decrease in flexural strength in
the following ratios. As a result of the tensile test, they
observed that the best particle ratio was 3%, and it
increased the tensile strength of the nano silica particle
layer compared to the pure composite. Knoll et al.26 used
low-layer graphene and multi-walled carbon nanotubes as
nanoparticle addition to carbon fiber reinforced plastics
and produced 3% nanoparticle filled epoxy composites by
the prepreg method. The results of the fatigue performance
it was observed that while the fatigue life of the layers
increased significantly, the quasi-static mechanical properties remained almost the same. Tang et al.27 examined the
effect of Gr filler on the mechanical properties of composites. The reinforcement of composite materials with Gr
filler improved the mechanical properties of the composite.
Shahabaz et al.28 investigated the role of hybrid Al2O3 and
SiC nanoparticles on the mechanical properties of CFRP
based hybrid nanocomposites and reported that filler content higher than 2 wt% for Al2O3 and 1.5 wt% for SiC
decreased the mechanical properties of the hybrid
nanocomposites.
Some studies in the literature state that the aggregation
of nanoparticles negatively affects the mechanical properties of nanocomposites. In one of these studies, Alsaadi
et al.29 analyzed the damage characteristics of graphene
nano-platelets filled carbon/Kevlar reinforced epoxy hybrid
nanocomposites by SEM. They stated that the tensile
strength of the Gr nano-platelets filled composites
decreased with the increase in weight ratios, and they
stated that this was due to agglomeration caused by the
increase in the amount of additive. In another study,
Alsaadi et al.30 studied the effect of clay nanoparticles on
the mechanical and vibration characteristics of intraply aramid/carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composite. They concluded that the composite strength deteriorates at high
particle content due to clay nanoparticle agglomeration,
which creates stress concentration points that cause weaknesses in the strength of the composite and thus crack
initiation.
It can be concluded from the literature review that
research about nanoparticle-filled composites using different nanoparticles and comparing their mechanical
properties with each other is scarce. This study aims to
investigate the mechanical properties of carbon fiber
reinforced SiC and Gr nanoparticle filled composites.
Two types of composite laminates with 1 and 2 mm
thicknesses were produced for mechanical tests. Gr and
SiC nanoparticles were added to the epoxy resin at 0.5%,
1%, and 2% weight percentages for both 1 and 2 mm thick
plates. Additionally, an unfilled composite plate was produced as a reference for comparison purposes. All composite plates (14 plates in total) were cut into appropriate
test dimensions according to ASTM standards for tensile,
compressive, and bending tests and three sets of samples
were prepared for each test."