JITENDRA. S. TATE^1,2,*, HARISH KALLAGUNTA^1,2, ANDREW ALVAREZ¹

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.38, No.1-2, pp. 101-120, 2021, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2021.38.1-2.9

Abstract The exponential growth in composites and their increased use in military, aerospace, energy, and automotive industry is driven by their high performance and light weight. High performance thermosetting polymers such as cyanate ester have received considerable attention due to its ability of volatile-free curing. It also offers advantages such as excellent radiation shielding, high thermal stability, and hydrophobicity with lots of potential for enhanced mechanical strength. This research article discusses the results of effects of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) at predetermined loading levels of 0.5wt%, 1wt% and 1.5wt% on mechanical, thermal and flammability properties of cyanate ester modified carbon fiber… More >

LAVANYA, R¹, NATCHIMUTHU, N^2,*

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.38, No.1-2, pp. 89-100, 2021, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2021.38.1-2.8

Abstract Rubber composites of nitrile (NBR) and Ethylene-Propylene-Diene (EPDM) containing unmodified and modified microcrystalline cellulose(MCC) are evaluated for their processing behaviour. The used modified MCC (T-MCC) was treated by N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride (DMAc/ LiCl).ATR-FTIR spectra of NBR-MCC composites have indicated N-H stretching and bending vibrations and confirmed interactions between nitrile rubber and MCC. AFM studies have indicated that the average roughness of NBR-T-MCC was significantly reduced when compared to that of NBR-untreated MCC. Important processing parameters such as scorch time and cure time are found to decrease significantly for both NBR and EPDM composites withT-MCC. Mechanical properties of these composites are found… More >

RITESH D. BHATT, JIGNESH P. PATEL, P. H. PARSANIA^*

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.38, No.1-2, pp. 71-87, 2021, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2021.38.1-2.7

Abstract Glass/Biofibers/Epoxy methacrylate of bisphenol-C (G/BF/EBCMAS) sandwich composites was prepared by compression molding. G/BF/EBCMAS showed good mechanical and good to excellent electrical properties and excellent chemical resistance. Studied properties are compared with EBCMAS and G/EBCMAS. In comparison with G/EBCMAS, G/BF/EBCMAS showed considerable decline of tensile strength (18-63.4%), flexural strength (18.8-38.7%), flexural modulus (12.8-50.7%), Izod impact strength (17.4-43.5%), Barcol hardness (2.1-16.7%) and dielectric strength (23.8-76.8%) except flexural strength of G/BM/EBCMAS. G/WC/EBCMAS (96.7%), G/B/EBCMAS (79.2%), G/GN/EBCMAS (83.3%) and G/RH/EBCMAS (97.9%) showed decline of volume resistivity, whereas other sandwich composites showed 1150-58233% improvement. The decrease in mechanical properties and dielectric strength of G/BF/EBCMAS sandwich… More >

MANIKANDAN.N^1,*, RAJESH.P.K¹

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.38, No.3-4, pp. 327-336, 2021, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2021.38.3-4.12

Abstract In this research, a new method to fabricate multi-material, multi-shape changing polymer composites is proposed. The method aims to reduce the number of thermomechanical programming steps involved in achieving shape change in a shape memory polymer (SMP) composite structure by including the programming steps directly into the printing process. After a single step of mechanical deformation and thermal loading, the SMP fibers can be activated sequentially to control the shape change. Composite strip samples were fabricated using a Stratasys Objet 260 multimaterial printer. Two polymer inks VeroPureWhite and Agilus30 were used as primary materials. The composite strip consists of fiber… More >

A. MADHAN KUMAR¹, K. JAYAKUMAR^2,*, M. SHALINI³

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.39, No.3-4, pp. 269-281, 2022, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2022.39.3-4.7

Abstract Polylactic acid (PLA) is the most popular thermoplastic biopolymer providing a stiffness and strength alternative to fossil-based plastics. It is also the most promising biodegradable polymer on the market right now, thus gaining a substitute for conservative artificial polymers. Therefore, the current research focuses on synthesizing and mechanical characterization of particlereinforced PLA composites. The hot compression molding technique was used to fabricate PLA-based composites with 0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 weight % of sawdust, rice husk, and bagasse particle reinforcements to enhance the performance of the PLA. The pellets of PLA matrix were taken with an average size of 3… More >

GAURAV AGARWAL

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.39, No.3-4, pp. 255-267, 2022, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2022.39.3-4.6

Abstract Studies were conducted to observe the effect of fracture toughness and damping response on fabric reinforced epoxy polymer composites. The samples of glass fabric, kevlar fabric and carbon fabric having 15wt%, 25wt%, 35wt%, 45wt% and 55wt % fabric content were prepared and tested following ASTM standards. Fracture toughness, peak load and increase in energy absorption are determined for the fabric-epoxy composites. Effect of temperature on storage modulus, loss modulus and tan delta values for various percentages of fabric epoxy composites are noticed and corresponding damping response behaviour is determined. The results revealed that reduction in strength at higher percentage of… More >

RITESH D. BHATT, JIGNESH P. PATEL, PARSOTAM H. PARSANIA^*

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.39, No.3-4, pp. 223-239, 2022, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2022.39.3-4.4

Abstract Compression-molded epoxy methacrylate of bisphenol-C-jute/treated jute-banana/groundnut/ cane sugar/pineapple leaf/rice husk/wheat husk sandwich composites were fabricated under 5 MPa pressure at room temperature for 3 h. Alkali treated jute-natural fiber sandwich composites displayed considerably improved mechanical properties over untreated jute-natural fiber sandwich composites due to surface modification of the jute fibers. Both types of sandwich composites showed high water uptake tendency, excellent hydrolytic stability against acids, alkali, and salt solutions, and also a longer equilibrium time at 30o C. Alkali treated sandwich composites revealed a considerably lower water uptake tendency than untreated sandwich composites. Observed water uptake trend is H₂ SO₄… More >

RITESH D. BHATT, JIGNESH P. PATEL, PARSOTAM H. PARSANIA^*

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.39, No.3-4, pp. 205-221, 2022, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2022.39.3-4.3

Abstract Epoxy methacrylate of bisphenol-C-jute/treated jute and their sandwich composites of white coir, brown coir, wild almond, bamboo, betel nut, and palmyra were prepared by a compression molding technique under 5MPa pressure and at room temperature for three h. The neat sample showed almost double tensile strength than its jute composite, while it is comparable for treated jute. The composites revealed substantially improved flexural strength compared to neat. The neat, jute/treated jute and their sandwich composites indicated good impact strength, pretty good Barcol hardness, and fairly good electric strength. The neat sample showed excellent volume resistivity, while jute/treated jute and their… More >

PARSOTAM H. PARSANIA^1,*, JIGNESH V. PATEL², JIGNESH P. PATEL³

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.40, No.3-4, pp. 271-284, 2023, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2023.40.3-4.9

Abstract Bisphenol-C epoxy crotonate resin was synthesized by reacting 8.09g epoxy resin of bisphenolC, and 2.15g crotonic acid using 25 mL 1,4-dioxane as a solvent, and 1 mL triethylamine as a catalyst at reflux temperature for 1-6 h. Solid epoxy crotonate (ECCR) is highly soluble in common organic solvents. ECCR was characterized by its acid (24.5-1.5 mg KOH/g) and hydroxyl (504.5-678.4 mg KOH/g) values. The structure of ECCR is supported by FTIR and 1 HNMR spectroscopic methods. A DSC endothermic transition at 229o C indicated melting followed by thermal polymerization of ECCR. ECCR is thermally stable up to 320o C and… More >

K. KRISHNAMOORTHY^a,*, N. PRABHU^b

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.40, No.3-4, pp. 215-226, 2023, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2023.40.3-4.7

Abstract The acoustic emission monitoring with artificial neural networks predicts the ultimate strength of glass/epoxy composite laminates using Acoustic Emission Data. The ultimate loads of all the specimens were used to characterise the emission of hits during failure modes. The six layered glass fiber laminates were prepared (in woven mat form) with epoxy as the binding medium by hand lay-up technique. At room temperature, with a pressure of 30 kg/cm², the laminates were cured. The laminates of standard dimensions as per ASTM D3039 for the tensile test were cut from the lamina. The Acoustic Emission (AE) test was conducted on these… More >