LAUSR

Abstract To study the effect of particle size and filler concentration of TiO2 particles on the mechanical and viscoelastic properties (such as tensile strength, fracture toughness, storage modulus, damping properties and the glass transition temperature) of epoxy composites, tensile test with fractography, three point bend fracture test, DMA test were performed in accordance with the ASTM standards. The micron and nano-sized TiO2 particles were dispersed with loading fraction up to 8 wt% in the epoxy resin. The result of tests revealed that epoxy resin cast filled with TiO2 particles represented higher tensile strength and fracture properties as compared to pristine epoxy. The maximum increase in tensile strength and fracture toughness for micron-sized TiO2 reinforced epoxy composites is 32.57% and 44.95% respectively at a filler loading of 4 wt%. However, the maximum increase in tensile strength and fracture toughness for nano-sized TiO2 reinforced epoxy composites is 43.70% and 141.85% respectively at a filler loading of 6 wt%. The storage modulus of reinforced epoxy composites in the glassy region showed maximum enhancement of about 4.73% for 4 wt% micron-sized TiO2 and 32.88% for 4 wt% nano-sized TiO2 as compared to pristine epoxy at 40 °C.