EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CHOPPED STRAND MAT-E GLASS FIBER POLYSTER RESIN & (COAL FLY ASH +GRAPHITE) COMPOSITES.

Abstract

Composite materials play a vital role in many industrial applications. Researchers are working on fabrication of new composite materials worldwide to enhance the applicability of these materials. In view of this the mechanical performance of the composite material is essential. The objective of the present work is to analyze the effect of coal fly ash +graphite powder content on the mechanical behavior of chopped strand mat 450 GM-Glass fiber reinforced. Five different types of composites are fabricated using 0%wt, 5%wt, 10%wt, 15%wt and 20%wt of coal fly ash +graphite powder with Chopped Strand Mat-E glass fiber and polyester resin. The polyester resin, catalyst and accelerator are mixed in 80:6:6 weight ratio in polyester matrix with (csa +graphite)powder. The aim of the project is to investigate the effect of (csa +graphite) powder with chopped strand mat 450GM for making the composite material stronger and tougher. The investigation is carried out by mixing different weight percentages of the powder with the polyester resin and preparing individual samples. After CSM preparation, the materials were properly mixed using the hand-lay techniques and different specimens were prepared with different compositions of the (csa +graphite) powder. After all the samples were prepared, mechanical tests were carried out on the samples to ascertain the changes observed due to the composition of (csa +graphite) powder. The obtained results of various samples specimens were compared and graphically charted to characterize the new composites material