Effects of Fiber Volume Fraction, Fiber Length and Fillers on Fracture Toughness, Impact Toughness and Fracture Energy of Glass Fiber Composite Panels

Composites are wonderful materials that have revolutionized the field of engineering because they can provide more versatility when compared to other materials and can be tailored to have maximum strength and stiffness. Experimental investigation was carried out to study the influence of fiber volume fraction, fiber length and percentage of fillers on fracture toughness ,fracture energy and impact energy of glass fiber reinforced composite. Panels with different configurations were made using fiber glass chopped strand mat and unidirectional roving with epoxy resin. Wet Hand Layup method was adopted for fabrication of panels with different fiber volume fractions and filler density while Bulk Molding Compound Technique was used for making panels with different fiber lengths. ASTM D-5045-14 was consulted for the development of test specimens to conduct flexural testing of these panels. The analysis based on the experimental results obtained shows that fracture toughness and fracture energy increases with increase in fiber volume fraction and fiber length while it decreases with the increase of percentage of fillers in composites.