Size Effect of Clay Filler Particles on Mechanical Properties of Pultruded Polymer Composites Under Shear Loading

Polymer composites are finding a range of applications across different fields of engineering. Hence, there is a need to understand the properties of these polymer composites. Mechanical testing can be done to determine the properties but firstly the composite must be manufactured consuming time and money. However, if the properties gained differ from those expected from composite the obtained data is rejected, and a new composite must be manufactured consuming more time and effort. The micromechanical models play an important role in estimating the properties of the polymer composites. These models estimate the properties of the composite by estimating the properties of the constituents that build up the composite. However, these models fail to explain the effect of particle size on to the mechanical properties of the overall composites. The study reviews different micromechanical theories and focuses on the development of an analytical model that can accurately predict the effect of clay particle size on to the mechanical properties of pultruded polymer composites with clay filler particles and the numerical results are compared to experimental data to validate the analytical model