Abstract
Unsaturated polyester resin is extensively used in the fiber reinforced composite industry and very often, their failure starts from the microcracking of the matrix resin. UPE resin, being a thermoset material, becomes very rigid after crosslinking and has poor energy absorption characteristics. To enhance its stress absorbing behavior in dynamic conditions, an attempt was made by blending it with SBR latex in three proportions (1, 5, and 10%). The three sets of samples were subjected to flexural testing and dynamic mechanical analysis. A 50% and 22% increase in modulus were observed in case of 1% and 5% latex added samples respectively. This indicates a strong intercomponent bonding in these samples. In the 10% latex added blend, the latex particles were evident as discrete phases in the continuous resin matrix. The flexurally fractured surfaces were examined under a scanning electron microscope. Their static and dynamic mechanical properties were correlated with their microstructure.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.