Mechanical Properties and Swelling Behavior of Short Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyester Composites

Abstract

Chopped strand glass fiber reinforced particle-filled polymer composite with different volume fractions of glass fibers has been investigated for tensile strength. Both the properties have been studied with respect to varying fiber content i.e., from 1 to 10%. In addition, the effect of various acids, alkalies, and solvents has been investigated. It has been found that fiber reinforcement increases the chemical absorption. Swelling studies have also been done for NaCl (15%) and distilled water, and the diffusivity coefficient and sorption coefficient are calculated. The sorption coefficient increases with increasing fiber content while the diffusivity coefficient decreases with increasing fiber content.