Chemically Modified Graphene Nanoplatelets-Thermoset Adhesive Through Ultrasonication Assisted Mixing For Natural Rubber Aluminium Bonding

• 主要作者: Mohd Zafri, Mazatul Nadia
• 格式: Thesis
• 語言: 英语; 英语
• 出版: 2019
• 主題: T Technology (General); TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• 在線閱讀: http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/25162/; https://plh.utem.edu.my/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=117857

Passive engine mount is an integrated system of rubber and metal which help to reduce noise, vibration and harshness to an automotive system. In recent years, there are increasing demands in the use of aluminium alloy (Al alloy) to replace steel in the engine mount components due to their lightweight properties. Owing to its high strength and sustainability, natural rubber (NR) is also widely used for the same application. It also own low market price. However, the technology development on rubber to aluminium bonding is still infancy. The existing adhesive used is very expensive due to the utilization of primer and insufficient to provide strength required for the component. Therefore, this study is a preliminary effort to explore the potential of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) filled epoxy as an adhesive to bond natural rubber-aluminium alloy without any utilization of primer. In this study, the effect of treated GNPs loading at 0%, 0.5%, 3%, and 7% wt on the bonding strength of the epoxy/GNPs adhesive to bond NR composites-Al alloy was investigated. Firstly, the GNPs were chemically treated via ultrasonication method prior the addition of epoxy to form the adhesive. Then, the epoxy/GNPs adhesive was applied on the pre-etched aluminium alloy before placing in a mould for vulcanization bonding. The NR composites-Al alloy was bonded with the prepared epoxy/GNPs adhesive under the temperature of 140C, 100 kg/cm2 for 10 minutes using hot press machine. Then, the samples were subjected to peel test using UTM machine at the crosshead speed of 50mm/min in accordance to ASTM D429 at room temperature to determine the bonding strength. The findings were further supported by thermal, structural, compositional and morphological analyses using Different Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The epoxy/GNPs adhesive is proven to improve the bonding strength between NR composites-Al alloy for up to 200% compared to the control sample (epoxy without treated GNPs). The highest bonding strength was observed in epoxy/3-GNPs for the value of 44 N compared to 16 N for the control sample. This is due to the uniform distribution of GNPs and good interaction between epoxy/GNPs with the Al alloy surface. This finding is significant for the engine mount manufacturer to improve their current technology or existing recipe for the rubber-aluminium bonding in their product manufacturing.