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Abstract
Polymer composites are seen striking due to greaterfatigue resistance, strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion and high stiffness-to-weight ratio. Polymer composites packed with nanometre size particles encounter further properties augmentation to a great extent. Degradation in mechanical properties due to environmental factors such as temperature, moisture and load has also been observed. In this study an attempt is made to scrutinize the deterioration of nanocomposites under natural and accelerated moisture conditions. Epoxy/ clay nanocomposites have been fabricated using bidirectional E-glass fiber as reinforcement and epoxy mixed with cloisite 30B as matrix using hand layup method. For the characterisation of the nanocomposites, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used. The XRD results validated the intercalation of polymers in clay particles. SEM images showed proper dispersion of clay but clay clusters were found in 5 wt% samples. Tensile strength and hardness increases by 33% and 22% respectively by adding 3 wt% of cloisite 30B nano- clay in epoxy. Modified epoxies showed better resistance to both moisture and temperature under longevity studies. Nanocomposites showed only 36% degradation in strength and hardness deteriorated by 22% when subjected to accelerated conditions.