Development of Glass Fibers Laminates Toughened with Core-Shell Rubber Particles for Applications in Cold...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Polymer Composites
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Traditional glass fiber composites exhibit reduced toughness and impact resistance in cold environments due to embrittlement.
• Bisphenol A-based vinyl ester urethane resins, like Atlac® 580, require modification to enhance performance in low-temperature applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve the fracture toughness and impact resistance of glass fiber laminated composites for cold environments.
• To investigate the effect of core-shell rubber (CSR) particle incorporation on the properties of Atlac® 580 resin.
• To optimize CSR content and integrate toughened resin with glass fiber fabrics for enhanced composite performance.

Main Methods:

• Enhanced the toughness of Atlac® 580 resin by incorporating core-shell rubber (CSR) particles at varying concentrations (5-15 wt.%).
• Identified an optimal mixing procedure for uniform CSR particle distribution.
• Fabricated glass fiber laminated composites using the optimized toughened resin and analyzed mechanical, morphological, and impact properties.

Main Results:

• Optimal CSR particle concentration for significant fracture toughness improvement was determined to be 10 wt.%.
• The toughened resin composite demonstrated superior mechanical, morphological, and impact properties compared to the reference composite.
• Enhanced durability was confirmed for applications in demanding cold environments.

Conclusions:

• Incorporating 10 wt.% CSR particles effectively enhances the toughness of Atlac® 580 resin for composite applications.
• The developed glass fiber laminated composite exhibits improved performance, particularly in cold environments.
• The findings support the suitability of this toughened composite for demanding applications requiring enhanced durability.