Understanding the Effect of Halloysite Nanotubes Addition Upon the Mechanical Properties of Glass Fiber Aluminum Laminate

The influence of different wt. % of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) on the mechanical properties of glass laminate aluminum reinforced epoxy (GLARE) was explored. GLARE (3/2) with quasi-isotropic lay-up, [Al/[(0°/90°)/(45°/−45°)]s/Al/[(0°/90°)/(45°/−45°)]s/Al] filled with 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 wt. % of HNTs was fabricated using hand lay-up followed by compression molding. Tensile, flexural, in-plane shear, interlaminar shear, bearing and impact tests were conducted. Results revealed that the maximum effect on the studied mechanical properties was obtained at 1 wt. % of HNTs. Further increase in HNTs wt. % reduces the trend. The tensile, flexural, in-plane shear and interlaminar shear properties of GLARE filled with 3 wt. % of HNTs were lower compared with original GLARE. But the bearing strength and impact strength are still higher. To examine the fracture mechanism, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were taken. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to show the chemical composition of the studied samples.