Study on Tensile Strength of GFRP Nanocomposites by VARTM

Present state of the art aims to enhance the mechanical properties of GFRP by incorporating nanofillers with different weight percentages into the resin matrix. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles are used as the filler material and infused into the epoxy resin (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A). In this work, woven roving mat (WRM) of glass fiber is used as reinforcement material. Nanocomposite specimen was prepared by VARTM process by varying the percentages of zinc oxide weight as 0, 1, 3 and 5 wt% respectively. The surface morphology was detected by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effect of ZnO nanoparticles on mechanical properties of GFRP was determined by conducting tensile test. From the results obtained, it is evident that the infusion of 1 wt% zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles in epoxy resin showed 20% increment in tensile strength compared with neat epoxy composite.