Time Dependent Behaviour of Amino Silane-treated Aramid Fibre and Waste Latex Rubber Powder Toughened Epoxy Composite

The purpose of this research was to investigate the time-dependent behaviour of an epoxy composite prepared from silane-treated aramid fibre and waste latex rubber powder (LRP). To increase the adhesive behaviour of reinforcement with matrix, the aramid fibre and latex rubber powder were surface treated using amino silane. The composites were made using hand layup method and cured at room temperature. The fatigue strength of LRP in fibre-epoxy composite was improved up to 82.1 % when compared to fibre-epoxy composite. Similarly, incorporating LRP into the resin increased the energy storage up to 4.7GPa, which was equal to 34.04 % with neat epoxy. The addition of latex rubber powder to the resin enhanced the energy dissipation factor in dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). These mechanically toughened epoxy composites made from industrial crop waste could be used in engineering applications that demand great toughness and stiffness.