EFFECTS OF CORE-SHELL RUBBER (CSR) NANOPARTICLES ON THE FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF AN EPOXY RESIN AT CRYOGENIC TEMPERATURES

摘要

This study investigates the effects of core-shell rubber (CSR) nanoparticles on the fracture toughness of an epoxy resin at liquid nitrogen (LN_2) temperatures. Varying amounts of Kane Ace? MX130 toughening agent were added to a commercially available EPON 862/W epoxy resin. Resulting fracture toughness was evaluated by the use of Charpy impact tests conducted on an instrumented drop tower. The size and distribution of the CSR nanoparticles were characterized using Transmission Electric Microscopy (TEM) and Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS). Up to nominal 4.6 % addition of the CSR nanoparticles, resulted in a nearly 5 times increase in the measured breaking energy. However, further increases in the amount of CSR nanoparticles had no appreciable affect on the breaking energy.