STUDY OF MECHANICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF GLASS FIBER REINFORCED MODIFIED EPOXY COMPOSITES

Polymethylmethacrylate and Poly (acrylonitrile-co-butadiene) rubber were used to modify Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) type epoxy resin and cured with stoichiometric quantities of the hardener 4,4' diamino dipheny methane.This modified epoxy resin was used as the matrix for the preparation of glass fiber reinforced composites.E-Glass fiber was used as fiber reinforcement.The morphology and mechanical properties of the composite analysed.Morphological analysis of the fractured surface of the composites indicated good adhesion between the matrix polymer and the glass fibers.Hence an enhancement in mechanical properties of the composite such as tensile, flexural, impact and fracture toughness has been observed as there has been an effective transfer of the load from the matrix to the fiber.Hence these composites which exhibit high toughness, strength and dimensional stability can be envisaged to provide valuable contribution to high performance structural applications.