Evaluation of Mechanical and Thermal Properties of a Reinforced Thermosetting Polymer with Glass Fiber and Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

This study has been explored the enhancement of the mechanical, physical, and thermal properties of a polymeric matrix by incorporating fiberglass, multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and also, their hybrid combinations. Composite materials have been fabricated with different filler concentrations and have been evaluated for tensile strength, thermal conductivity, compressive strength, and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). The results have shown that the addition of 3 wt% of the glass fibers has significantly increased the compressive strength by approximately 29%, while 3 wt% of the MWCNT effectively maintains the tensile strength and significantly improves the thermal conductivity and dimensional stability. The incorporation of the MWCNT has increased the thermal conductivity by 125% and has significantly decreased the CTE, indicating limited mobility of the polymer chain, and has improved the thermal performance. Conversely, the hybrid composites did not exhibit synergistic effects and often performed poorly compared to the single-reinforcement systems. Because of the poor dispersion and agglomeration of nanoparticles, in addition to interface mismatch, the results for each type of reinforcement demonstrated distinct advantages and emphasized the need for improved processing strategies to achieve functional synergies in hybrid nanocomposite materials for various applications.