Investigation of the mechanical properties of DGEBA-based epoxy resin with nanoclay additives

The present study investigated the effect of nanoclay additives on the mechanical properties of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy resin. The resin was cured with diethyltoluene diamine (DETDA) hardener and four material variations produced through the addition of four types of nanoclays, respectively. The nanocomposites were prepared by the in situ polymerisation method with the aid of mechanical shearing. The properties of the nanocomposites investigated included tensile modulus, tensile strength, tensile strain and fracture toughness (KIC). It was observed that while the addition of nanoclay significantly increased the elastic modulus and fracture toughness of DGEBA epoxy resin, it also significantly reduced the failure strength and failure strain with increasing nanoclay level. Possible mechanisms for the improvement and degradation of these properties of the epoxy–clay nanocomposite materials are discussed.