College - Author 1

College of Engineering

Department - Author 1

Materials Engineering Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BS in Materials Engineering

College - Author 2

College of Engineering

Department - Author 2

Materials Engineering Department

Degree - Author 2

BS in Materials Engineering

Date

6-2021

Primary Advisor

DTrevor Harding, College of Engineering, Materials Engineering Department

Abstract/Summary

Premature failure of filtration members in biochemical processing is a costly issue for manufacturers. This research aims to determine whether or not the premature failure due to thermal fatigue in medical filtration devices can be mitigated by glass fiber addition. The study was conducted to identify the effects of e-glass fiber filler content in an epoxy matrix on the mechanical and thermal properties of the epoxy system. The epoxy was evaluated over a filler content of 0-50wt% in level increments of 12.5wt% and temperatures ranging from ambient to 160°C in increments of 15°C. Cylindrical and tensile bar specimens were prepared for each filler content level to evaluate the effect on thermal expansion, glass transition temperature and tensile properties. Caliper measurements of cylindrical specimens across the temperature range concluded that there is a significant inverse relationship between filler content and thermal expansion. Glass content did not present a significant effect on the glass transition temperatures which were measured though differential scanning calorimetry. Tensile testing of the samples found that the epoxy composite was stiffer at higher filler contents. These findings indicate that the addition of glass fibers may not serve as a viable method of increasing the filter production lifetime.

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