Comparative Investigation of Mechanical and Morphological Properties of Glass Fiber‐Reinforced Epoxy Composites Incorporating TiO ₂ , GnPs Bihar Gaurav, Ashis Mallick, Vivek Sharma

ABSTRACT

Over the past several decades, fiber‐reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been widely explored for structural applications. This study aims to Systematic comparisons of individual and incorporate hybrid fillers particles, graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) and titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ), into glass fiber‐reinforced epoxy polymer composites to improve their mechanical properties. Hand lay‐up and vacuum‐assisted resin transfer molding techniques were used to fabricate the composite laminates. Tensile, flexural, compression, and short‐beam shear tests have been conducted to determine the properties of the hybrid nanoparticle‐filled GFRP and the neat GFRP composite as per ASTM standards. The effect of adding hybrid nanoparticle‐filled composites is a significant enhancement in tensile, compression, flexural strength, and hardness compared with neat composites. Investigations have been performed to examine the influence of nanoparticle distribution on the microstructure of both reinforced and unreinforced samples, utilizing techniques that include optical microscopy (OM) and X‐ray diffraction. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) has been employed to investigate the microstructural, interfacial bonding, nanofiller interaction, and failure mechanisms. Energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy confirmed uniform nanofiller distribution within the matrix. Vickers microhardness was used to test the surface hardness. HRTEM and Raman spectroscopy were used to study the shape and structural stability of GnPs nanoparticles.