Comparative Study on the Influence of Hybrid Nano Fillers Modified Epoxy in the Mechanical Behavior of GLARE Laminates

The current research work highlighted the effect of modified adhesives with hybrid fillers in different morphology on the mechanical properties of the GLARE laminates. The two different combinations of hybrid fillers such as Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH)+multiwalled carbon nanotube and nano clay (NC)+multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) were used in different proportions to modify the epoxy resin. Aluminium alloy AA5052 sheet was used as the metal skin and woven glass fiber reinforced polymer was used as the core layer for fabricating the laminates using the hand lay-up technique. The tensile, flexural, impact and lap shear tests were conducted as per ASTM standards. The mechanical behavior of laminates embedded with hybrid LDH+MWCNT fillers was observed to be superior compared to the laminates with NC+MWCNT fillers. The results showed that the laminate with 4 wt.% of LDH+MWCNT hybrid filler exhibited better tensile strength, flexural properties, impact behavior and shear strength compared to other FMLs. The tensile strength, flexural strength, impact energy absorption and lap shear strength of the laminate with 4 wt.% of LDH+MWCNT hybrid fillers exhibited an enhancement of 60.8 %, 7.61 %, 48.2 % and 25 % respectively compared to the FML without any filler. The test results were justified by conducting a detailed microscopic study of the fracture surface of the laminates using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).