Effect of Nanoclay on the Mechanical properties of Polyester and S-glass fiber (Al)

Composite materials play a vital role in many industrial applications. Researchers are working on fabrication of new composite materials worldwide to enhance the applicability of these materials. In view of this, the objective of the present work is to analyze the effect of nanoclay content on the mechanical and morphological behavior of S-glass fiber, reinforced in Polyester with nanoclay as filler. Five different types of composites are fabricated by hand layup technique using 0 wt% nanoclay,1 wt% nanoclay, 3 wt % nanoclay, 5 wt% nanoclay and 7 wt% nanoclay with 40% wt fiber, and polyester. The results of the study show that the incorporation of nanoclay has a significant effect on the mechanical behavior of composites. The optimum loading of clay in the Polyester /glass fiber composites was attained at 3wt%, where the improvement in tensile and bending properties was seen.