Tensile testing of PDMS-Xirallic oriented magnetic microplatelets

Abstract

Bioinspired composites have been in the spotlight for many years due to the increasing demand for lightweight composites. The observation of nature has enabled scientist to come up with different techniques and materials for improving the characteristics of polymer. This can be achieved by introducing nano-micro particles into the matrix and cured using methods such as electric field, magnetic field, rotation extrusion and multilayer coextrusion [1]. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a widely used polymer due to is nontoxic and biocompatibility nature [2] coupled with its relatively easy manufacturing process. In this study, xirallic (Al2O3 coated TiO2) was used as the reinforcement in PDMS, and tensile tests in the transverse direction (x-z plane) were conducted to verify the enhanced mechanical properties of the composite. The ultimate tensile strength, young’s modulus and toughness show signs of increase with the increase in weight percentage at 0 Wt%, 10 Wt% and 15 Wt% of xirallic respectively. Furthermore, difficulties of manufacturing process will be discussed, and solutions will be provided.