EFFECT OF NANOFIBERS ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF EPOXY HYBRID SYNTACTIC FOAM

Abstract

Syntactic foams are a class of materials that consists of hollow spaces inside a solid shell. Owing to the presence of hollow spaces, they are structurally light-weight. This permits their usage in applications where weight is a constraint. However, an inherent disadvantage of such materials is their low mechanical strength (a property attributed to their structure). To do away with this problem, fillers can be added but with an associated problem of increasing the weight. This project is an attempt to improve the mechanical properties of epoxy/HGM syntactic foams by reinforcing them with nanofibrous fillers of polystyrene and nylon 6 which have in turn prepared by electrospinning. Nanofibre webs being very light compared to their micron sized counterparts allows sufficient saving in weight along with providing necessary strength. This thesis focuses on establishing the effect of increasing concentration of the polymer on the morphology of the electrospunfibers. The effect of introducing these fibers at different volume fractions on their compressive and flexural properties have also been explored in this project.