Mechanical, dynamic-mechanical and wear performance of novel non-crimp glass fabric-reinforced liquid thermoplastic composites filled with cellulose microcrystals

The novel reactive methylmethacrylate (MMA) thermoplastic resin (commercially known as Elium-resin) is the first liquid thermoplastic resin which is curable at room temperature. This resin is a competitive solution against traditional epoxy-based composites. In this work, novel non-crimp (NC) glass fabric/ MMA resin composites were manufactured using a vacuum infusion process. Cellulose microcrystals (CMCs) were dispersed in the resin to improve the fibre/matrix interface and the composite properties. CMCs were first dispersed in the resin using an ultrasonication process and then the CMC/MMA resin suspension, mixed with a peroxide initiator, was infused into the reinforcing fabric. The amounts of CMCs dispersed in the resin were 0.5%, 1% and 2% (of the weight of the resin). The influence of CMCs on the interlaminar shear strength (interface), flexural properties, abrasive wear and dynamic-mechanical behaviour was thoroughly investigated. From the mechanical characterisation, it was observed that the addition of 1% CMC to the NC glass/MMA resin composites improved the flexural strength, interlaminar shear strength and wear performance by 30.77%, 38.04% and 22.27%, respectively as compared to the neat glass/MMA resin composite. Above this amount of CMC (i.e., 1 wt%), the properties started to degrade as a result of CMC agglomeration.