Mechanical behaviour assessment of unsaturated polyester polymer mortars filled with nano-sized Al2O3 and ZrO2 particles

Abstract

There are several ways to change the final properties of composite materials, but the most common one is by adding different types of modifier fillers to the polymeric matrix. Over the last years, nano fillers have brought some interesting properties to composites. Until now, only few works were published concerning the effective impacts of resin binder modification with nano oxides, on mechanical properties of polymer mortars (PM). In this study, unsaturated polyester based PMs with enhanced mechanical performance are developed through polymer modification with nano-sized Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ particles. Samples without and with nanoparticles (2.5 resin wt.%) were produced, and their mechanical/physical properties assessed by flexural, compressive and Shore D hardness tests. The PM modified with nano zirconia showed better mechanical performance compared to the unmodified PM; more thorough studies are nevertheless required in order to improve mix design formulations towards further enhancement of mechanical behaviour.