Study of Laser Ablation and Mechanical Properties of Silicone Rubber Nanocomposites

摘要

The use of nanofillers has increased significantly in many fields during the last few years with the growing interest in nanotechnology applications. In this paper nanocomposites with different amounts of surfactant and fillers were studied to determine the tensile properties of nanofilled samples. The results obtained show that it is essential to optimize the amount of surfactant used as otherwise the mechanical properties of the composites are negatively impacted in terms of reduced hardness and lowered tensile strength. An optimal amount of surfactant does not affect significantly the above-mentioned mechanical properties, however. In addition, laser ablation tests were done using a near infrared laser beam to assess the erosion resistance of all the samples. The laser tests confirmed that composites containing nano fumed silica have enhanced resistance to erosion as compared to natural nano silica or nanoalumina-filled composites.