DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL CLAY PARTICULATE REINFORCED EPOXY MATRIX COMPOSITES SUITABLE FOR ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS

Abstract

In this research, clay was used as filler material in epoxy to produce particulate reinforced polymer composites. Clay was sourced from Ikere- Ekiti clay deposit. The clay was characterized using Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (ED-XRFS) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) to determine the mineralogical composition. The clay was processed into three different particle sizes using sendimentation method with particle size ; -38μm (ultrafine), 38μm( fine) and 75μm (coarse).Epoxy resins have been widely used as impregnating materials, adhesive and matrix for composites because of their good electrical insulating, good chemical resistance, low shrinkage during curing and ease in processing. The composite was developed by adding 2,4,6,8 and 10wt% of clay to reinforced epoxy matrix by open mould casting method. The effect of adding clay was studied through tensile, flexural, impact strength, water absorption and wear test. The mechanical properties were all carried out in accordance with ASTM standards and performed at room temperature. The thermal property of the composite was studied. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) were carried out on the samples to determine the fractured surface of the composites with attached Energy dispersed spectrometer (EDS)and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the Structural characteristics of epoxy/clay composites. The wear test was performed to determine the specific abrasion of the composites and water absorption characteristic was carried out to reveal the water absorption rate of the composites developed. In this study, it was found that the addition of ultrafine clay up to 6wt% increased the tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and reduced the wear rate of the composites. On the contrary, the presence of above 6wt% of ultrafine clay produced a reverse effect. Addition of fine clay particle up to 8wt% also increased the tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and reduced the wear rate of the composites. The thermal conductivity test shows that Epoxy/Clay composite is an insulating material. The water absorption test result shows that as the clay content increase ,the water absorption tendency increase .Proper dispersion of 6wt% ultrafine clay in epoxy matrix showed by SEM analysis contributed to the improvement attained in the mechanical, wear, impact and water absorption property of the composite produced .It could be concluded that the best properties in mechanical, impact, water absorption and wear resistance were obtained for the epoxy composites containing 6 wt. % of ultrafine clay. The result obtained from this research has clearly shown that addition of 6wt% ultrafine clay to epoxy resin has successfully improved the mechanical properties of Epoxy/Clay Composite suitable for Engineering Applications.