Polymer Nanocomposites for Piping Application

Polymer Nanocomposites for Piping Application

Epoxy based nanocomposites incorporating nanoclay and several types of geopolymer raw materials obtained from Saudi Arabia were explored for piping application. The flexural and compressive properties and performance were studied from several series of epoxy nanocomposites containing different ratio of epoxy/hardener, and nanoclay/geopolymer. In addition, different kinds of geopolymer raw materials such as fly ash, kaolin, pozzolonic, silica sand and white clay were employed as filler. The effect of different combination and ratio of these materials on the mechanical properties and morphology of the resulted nanocomposites were investigated. Preliminary studies showed promising properties of these nanocomposites for further development in pipe application.

Keywords:Polymer, Nanocomposite, Nanoclay, Geopolymer, Pipe, compressive strength, flexural strength, flexural modulus.