Modelling the flexural properties of filled epoxy: Effects of volume fraction

The effects of volume fraction on the flexural characteristics of epoxy materials filled with cement, fly ash, and CaCO3 are discussed in this work. At a temperature of 50oC, water was used to soak the filled epoxies. It was discovered that the flexural modulus rose with the volume fraction for all fillers. However, the flexural strength of fly ash and CaCO3-filled epoxies tended to decrease with the increase in volume percent. The flexural strength of cement-filled epoxy somewhat improved with the increment volume fraction. According to those data, cement has a stronger interface than fly ash and CaCO3. In comparison to those in the dry condition, the flexural modulus and strength of all the epoxy systems dramatically decrease for the aged specimen. Epoxy that has been filled appears to lessen the reduction in flexural properties compared to that of neat epoxy. Again, the cement-filled epoxy performs better than fly ash and CaCO3. Halpin-Tsai and Pukánszky models have been successfully applied to model the flexural modulus and strength in the dry condition, respectively, but both models failed to predict those mechanical properties in wet condition.