title: Mechanism of fatigue failure of clay-epoxy nanocomposites.
abstract: This work investigates the fatigue behaviour and the mechanism of fatigue failure of an epoxy resin with a dispersion of modified layered silicates in the polymer matrix. The fatigue properties are very important for structural application of nanocomposite materials. Clay-epoxy nanocomposites were successfully synthesized with a commercially available 1-Methylimidazole curing agent. The XRD and TEM findings demonstrated a pattern of clay morphology typically found in nanocomposite systems. The fatigue performance and fatigue failure mechanism of the clay-epoxy materials were studied under repetitive bending loads. The results showed that the fatigue life of filled epoxy improved significantly at strain amplitudes below a threshold value. The E-SEM observations of the epoxy and the clay-epoxy fracture surfaces showed different patterns. In conclusion, the addition of silicate strongly determines the fracture mechanism and enhances the fatigue performance.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia.
authors.forename: Ariadne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Juwono
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Edward
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077215:Clay; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D004548:Elasticity; D004852:Epoxy Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013499:Surface Properties; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D004852:Epoxy Compounds; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D000077215:Clay