Revolutionizing Composites: Team Heroes:
Supercharging Epoxy Resins with Salim Mota (C0930095) | Dixit Ramani
(C0926714) | Jatin Padhiyar (C0928459)
Alumina Nanoparticles and Titanium Guided By:
Dioxide Mohsen Sheikhzadeh
What Is Our
Project About?
Selection of Matrix
Why Epoxy Resin?
➢ Versatile and Cost-effective: Widely used as adhesives, coatings,
electronic encapsulates, structural composites and aerospace structures.
➢ Superior Properties: High mechanical strength, lightweight, and
resistant to chemicals.
➢ Customizable: Easily modified to meet specific industrial demands.
Why Bisphenol A (BPA)?
➢ High Cross-Linking Density: Forms a strong 3D network, enhancing
durability.
➢ Thermal Stability: Performs well in heat-critical environments.
➢ Proven Track Record: Used extensively for high-performance
composites in demanding applications.
(Lim et al., 2010), (McGrath et al., 2007)
Alumina Nanoparticles As
Reinforcement?
Significant Mechanical Enhancements:
Increase the Tensile strength with the low filler content.
Flexural strength & modulus improvements enhance structural performance.
Impact strength & fracture toughness increase, making epoxy more durable.
Improved Adhesion & Toughness:
improves adhesion strength in epoxy adhesives.
Expands fracture process zone, preventing premature failure.
Superior Thermal Stability & Producibility:
Supports the development of high-performance epoxy adhesives for demanding
applications.
Nano-Scale Benefits:
Less than 100 nm in size → Enhances hardness, conductivity, and overall strength.
Low filler content (1–2 vol%) significantly improves stiffness & impact resistance.
(Kaybal et al., 2018)
Titanium Dioxide As
Reinforcement?
• One of the Most studied metal-oxide for epoxy enhancement.
• Non-toxic, chemically stable, and corrosion-resistant.
• Excellent UV absorption & photocatalytic activity → Useful for coatings and
protective layers.
• Enhanced Mechanical Performance: TiO₂ nanoparticles improve tensile strength,
modulus, toughness, fracture energy, flexural strength, elongation at break, and
fatigue resistance even at low concentrations.
• Enhances mechanical, thermal, and viscoelastic properties of epoxy resins.
• Applications: Used in self-cleaning coatings, nanomedicine, food packaging, solar
cells, and lithium-ion batteries.
• (Radoman et al., 2014) (Pinto et al., 2015)
Why Compare Both?
• TiO₂ excels in UV protection, corrosion resistance, and electrical applications.
• Al₂O₃ provides superior heat dissipation and mechanical durability.
• This project aims to determine which reinforcement offers the best balance of
strength, thermal performance, and industrial applicability.
• (Pinto et al., 2015), (Wu et al., 2020)
TETA as a Curing
Agent:
Why TETA Is
Better Than
Other AMINE-
based Curing
Agents?
Methodology
Overview
Week 1: Objectives
Composite Preparation
Prepare epoxy resin samples with Sample Prep For Testing
and without alumina Address challenges in achieving
nanoparticles For a Trial. ASTM standard dog bone shapes
for tensile testing.
Mold Preparation
Prepare The Mold In a Dog Bone Dispersion and Curing
Shape Using Previously Available
Understanding manual dispersion
Mold In the Lab.
and curing Time And Process.
Weighing
Accurately measured epoxy
and TETA, 50 % V each.
Mixing
1 (Without Alumina): Epoxy + TETA, Week 1 – What We
Did (Tuesday Lab)
manually stirred for 10 min.
2 (With Alumina): Epoxy + TETA + 5%
Alumina, stirred for 10 min.
Deaeration Materials Used:
Allowed air bubbles to settle ▪ Epoxy Resin (BPA-based) – 25 g per sample
before molding. ▪ Triethylenetetramine (TETA) – 25 g per sample
▪ Alumina Nanoparticles – 5% by weight in one sample
▪ Releasing Agent – Applied to molds
Molding & Curing
▪ Wooden Stirring Stick & Molds
Poured mixtures into three
molds and cured at room
temperature (24 hrs).
Observations & Challenges:
• Curing Check: All three samples fully cured after 24 hours.
Week 1 – What • Tensile Testing Preparation:
• Cutting samples into ASTM dog bone shapes was difficult.
• Manual cutting caused irregularities, affecting test
accuracy.
We Did Solutions & Improvements:
(Wednesday Lab) • Mold Modification: Created a dog bone-shaped cavity
mold to eliminate manual cutting.
• Process Optimization: Future samples will be cast directly in
ASTM standard shapes.
Why This is Important?
• Reduces errors in sample shape.
• Ensures consistent test results.
4 Objectives of
Week 2: Prepare & cure pure epoxy resin
samples(Without Alumina)
Conduct tensile testing
Modify mold design to achieve
on epoxy samples.
ASTM standard dog bone
shaped samples Directly.
Start preparing alumina-reinforced
epoxy samples (1% wt).
Week 2 – What We Did
(Tuesday Lab) Previous mold issues:
Irregular shapes, affecting test accuracy,
Hard To Obtain, Tiime Consuming
New Approach
Mold Modification
Cut dog bone shapes from rectangular molds.
Successfully created five ASTM-compliant
molds.
Improved Mold Alignment
Adjusted mold positioning to ensure uniform
thickness across all samples.
Weighing Week 2 – What We Molding & Curing
50%V BPA Epoxy +
50% V TETA Curing
Did (Tuesday Lab) Poured into five dog bone-
shaped molds for uniformity.
Agent. Left 24Hours for curing.
Mixing: Deaeration
Manually stirred for Let mixture stand 10
10 minutes for minutes to remove
uniform dispersion. air bubbles.
Week 2 – What Sample Inspection
We Did?
Epoxy samples fully cured, ASTM Dog
Bone shapes.
(Wednesday Lab)
Trimmed excess material for precision.
Tensile Testing of Pure Epoxy
Conducted by Dixit & Salim.
Data recorded & saved for further analysis.
Preparation of 1% wt Alumina Epoxy
Samples
Jatin prepared 5 new samples for tensile
testing. 2 additional rectangular molds
prepared for impact testing.
Week 3 – What’s Next?
Tuesday Lab:
▪ Perform tensile testing of 1% wt alumina epoxy samples
prepared during week 2.
▪ Prepare 5 samples of 3% wt alumina epoxy for tensile testing.
▪ Prepare 2 rectangular Shaped Mold samples for impact
testing.
Wednesday Lab:
▪ Prepare 5 samples of 5% wt alumina epoxy for tensile testing.
▪ Prepare 2 rectangular Shaped Mold samples for impact
testing.
▪ Perform tensile testing of 3% wt alumina epoxy prepared on
Tuesday.
Week 3: Objectives
Composite Preparation
Prepare epoxy resin samples with Tensile Testing
and with 3% and 5% alumina Perform the Tensile Testing of 1%wt
nanoparticles alumina epoxy samples made during
week 2, 3%wt alumina epoxy samples.
Dispersion and Curing
Molding & curing of samples for Data Analysis
future impact & tensile testing. Prepare graph and data analysis
of previously performed tests
results.
Weighing
Accurately measured epoxy
and TETA, 50%V each.
Mixing
1 (With 3% Alumina): Epoxy + TETA + 3% Week 3 – What We
Did?
manually stirred for 10 min.
2 (With 5% Alumina): Epoxy + TETA + 5%
Alumina, stirred for 10 min.
Deaeration Materials Used:
Allowed air bubbles to settle ▪ Epoxy Resin (BPA-based) – 30 g per sample
before molding. ▪ Triethylenetetramine (TETA) – 30 g per sample
▪ Alumina Nanoparticles – 3% and 5% by weight
▪ Releasing Agent – Applied to molds
Molding & Tensile Testing
▪ Wooden Stirring Stick & Molds
Poured mixtures into molds
and cured at room
temperature (24 hrs), later
performed the tensile testing
of each samples.
Week 4 – What’s Next?
Tuesday Lab:
• Tensile Testing : Perform tensile testing on 5% wt alumina epoxy samples.
• Titanium Oxide Composite Preparation : Prepare 1% wt Titanium Oxide - Epoxy
Samples.
• 5 dog bone-shaped samples for tensile testing.
• 5 rectangular samples for impact testing.
Wednesday Lab:
• Tensile Testing: Perform tensile testing on 1% wt Titanium Oxide - Epoxy Samples.
• Next Phase of Titanium Oxide Composites Preparation : Prepare 3% wt Titanium
Oxide - Epoxy Samples.
• 5 dog bone-shaped samples for tensile testing.
• 5 rectangular samples for impact testing.
Week 4 Activities
Tuesday Lab:
Tensile Testing: 5% wt Alumina-Epoxy Samples
Sample Preparation: 1% wt Titanium Dioxide-Epoxy , 1% wt Alumina-
Epoxy Samples
Wednesday Lab:
Tensile Testing: 1% wt Titanium Dioxide-Epoxy , 1% wt Alumina-Epoxy
Samples
Sample Preparation: 3% wt Titanium Dioxide-Epoxy Samples: Prepared for
Week 5
Tensile Testing
Results
WEEK 5: What’s
Next?
References
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Jiang, W., Jin, F., & Park, S. (2011). Thermo-mechanical behaviors of epoxy resins reinforced with nano-Al2O3 particles. Journal of Industrial and
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Kaybal, H. B., Ulus, H., Demir, O., Şahin, Ö. S., & Avcı, A. (2018). Effects of alumina nanoparticles on dynamic impact responses of
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[Link]
Lim, S., Zeng, K., & He, C. (2010). Morphology, tensile and fracture characteristics of epoxy alumina nanocomposites. Materials
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