Mautoga, Marau (2011) Fracture toughness of glass powder reinforced vinyl ester resin post cured in a conventional oven using flexural test. [USQ Project]
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Abstract
The construction sector is one of the world’s largest consumers of polymer composites. Unreinforced polymer composite materials have been used by the construction industry for many years in non-load bearing applications such as trimmings, kitchenware, vanities and cladding. In the last decade there has been a concerted effort to migrate reinforced polymer composites (RPCs) into the construction industry for use in primary load bearing applications. Potential advantages commonly expounded by proponents of RPC materials include high specific strength, high specific stiffness, tailor-able durability, good fatigue performance, versatile fabrication and lower maintenance costs. As a result reinforced polymer composites are being investigated in applications such as rehabilitation and retrofit, alternative reinforcement for concrete and, in rare cases, entire fibre composite structures.
However, to date the number of primary structural applications of RPCs in construction remains relatively low and there appears to be a number of issues contributing to their slow uptake by the construction industry. Issues such as cost, absence of design codes, lack of industry standardisation, poor understanding of construction issues by composites industry, lack of designers experienced with polymer composite materials and civil/building construction are commonly claimed to place these materials at a disadvantage when considered against traditional construction materials. However, this project proposes that as issues of sustainability become increasingly important to material choice, some fibre composite materials could be at an advantage over traditional materials.
The aim of this project was to determine which percentage of glass powder (by weight) would give the highest fracture toughness.
Specimens of vinyl ester resin reinforced with glass powder were made, at different percentages (by weight). The percentage composition of glass powder (by weight) was 0 % - 35 % in 5 % intervals. Six specimens of each percentage composition are to be made; therefore, forty (40) specimens should be made. The samples should be cured in ambient conditions. After curing, they should be post cured in a conventional oven over a period of ten hours, at different temperatures. This ensured the resin had fully cured throughout the specimen. Flexural tests were performed on the specimens. Using the data obtained, the fracture toughness was determined.
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| Item Type: | USQ Project |
|---|---|
| Refereed: | No |
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Engineering and Surveying - Department of Agricultural, Civil and Environmental Engineering (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Ku, Harry |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Dec 2012 06:52 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Dec 2012 06:54 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | polymer composites, glass powder, vinyl ester resin, flexural test |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 09 Engineering > 0912 Materials Engineering > 091206 Glass 09 Engineering > 0905 Civil Engineering > 090503 Construction Materials 09 Engineering > 0912 Materials Engineering > 091202 Composite and Hybrid Materials |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 40 ENGINEERING > 4016 Materials engineering > 401606 Glass 40 ENGINEERING > 4005 Civil engineering > 400505 Construction materials 40 ENGINEERING > 4016 Materials engineering > 401602 Composite and hybrid materials |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/22555 |
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