Experimental investigation of perforated nanocomposites under thermal cycles for use in the shell of sports buildings

One of the most important applications of composites is their use in structures with periodic thermal loading. Sports buildings are one of the most appropriate options for using these composites due to the need for a balanced temperature. In this research, composite samples of polymeric base reinforced with nanoparticles, structure, and effects of thermal cycling and circular holes on it have been investigated. The nanoparticles used were multi-walled carbon nanotubes and the weight percentage was 0.1%. In this research, the behavior of perforated nanocomposite samples with a diameter of 2 and 4 mm holes under thermal cycles was investigated. By performing a tensile test on the samples, the fracture toughness and modulus of elasticity due to the number of different heating cycles and the ratio of the hole diameter to the width for different samples were checked and compared. According to the results, as the ratio of diameter to width increases, the coefficient of stress concentration also increases. Also, the results show that the fracture strength increases during the thermal cycle. Fracture strength increases between 9% and 25% after 360 thermal cycles. It seems that one reason for this increase in tensile strength is the sintering of glass/epoxy nanocomposite during the thermal cycle.