Effect of nanoparticles on the improving mechanical behavior of GFRP composites in a corrosive environment

Corrosive environment can significantly effect on the mechanical behavior of composite structures which can improve by using hydrophobic nanoparticles. The aim of this study is to investigate the improvement of the mechanical properties of incorporated glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite specimens with 3 wt. % of nanoclay and nanosilica in a corrosive environment. Filled GFRP composites were fabricated using the mechanical stirrer following by sonication method, and the hand layup method. After preparing the neat and incorporated GFRP according to ASTM standards, all the samples were immersed in 5% sulfuric acid solution for 0, 1, and 3 months. As the immersion time increased, the samples containing nanosilica absorbed more water than the other samples. The tensile and compressive tests were performed at different immersion times to obtain the ultimate tensile and compressive strength and tensile modulus. The results showed that by adding nanoparticles, the mechanical properties were increased, which GFRP containing nanoclay showed a better behavior in the corrosive environment. By adding 3 wt. % of nanoclay, the ultimate tensile and compressive strength and the tensile modulus decreased after one month of immersion by only 0.34%, 1.81% and 2.95%, respectively, and after three months of immersion only decreased by 0.43%, 10.88% and 6.95%, respectively. Finally, SEM images of all specimens were examined to investigate the fracture mechanisms and the corrosion behavior of fabricated nanocomposites.