Characterization of ACS modified epoxy resin composites with fly ash and cenospheres as fillers: Mechanical and microstructural properties

Abstract Composites of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A resin modified with Amine Containing Silicone as matrix and fly ash and cenospheres as fillers have been examined for their mechanical and microstructural properties. The microstructural features of the composites in terms of free volume size and content, and its influence on the mechanical properties has been investigated. The results indicate that amine containing silicones works as a good coupling agent between the filler and the resin. Composites with 5 phr fly ash and 30 phr cenospheres showed improved thermal stability as indicated by the increased T_g of the composites, possibly because of increased SiOSi linkages. The tensile strength of cenospheres‐filled composites showed good improvement compared with that of the fly ash‐filled composites. Low density (0.6 g/cc) and higher silica content (60%) of cenospheres seems to be the reason for this observation, which is well corroborated by the free volume data. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers