Hydrodynamic Interaction induced Mechanical Properties of SGF Reinforced Polyethersulfone.

In order to explore the effect of short glass fiber (SGF) reinforcement on the mechanical properties of Polyethersulfone (PES), short glass fibers of different proportion (10 - 40 wt %) are reinforced into PES matrix. The free volume distribution of SGFR-PES composites derived from CONTIN-PALS2 program exhibits the narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM). This is attributed to the improved adhesion resulted by the hydrodynamic interaction between the polymeric chains of PES matrix and SGF. The hydrodynamic interaction parameter (h) decreases as a function of SGF wt% and becomes more negative for 40 wt% SGFR-PES composites suggest the generation of excess friction at the interface. This improves the adhesion between the polymeric chains of PES matrix and SGF and hence the mechanical strength of the SGFR-PES composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]