International Journal of
Advanced Multidisciplinary Application

Volume 3, Issue 6

• Author(s)Amit Deshpande ,Rohit Tiwari
• AffiliationDepartment of Materials Science, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
• Page No.8-15
• Volume, Issue & YearVolume 3, Issue 6, June 2026
• Published On2026/06/02
• JournalInternational Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Application (IJAMA)
• ISSN No.3048-9350

Abstract

Epoxy-based polymer matrix composites reinforced with nano-scale fillers have attracted sustained research interest as candidate structural materials for aerospace applications where weight reduction, high specific stiffness, and durability under hygrothermal exposure are simultaneously critical design objectives. Carbon nanofibres (CNF), produced by catalytic vapour growth and characterised by graphitic core structures with diameters of 60-200 nm, offer high aspect ratios (50-1000), excellent intrinsic tensile modulus (100-500 GPa), and compatibility with standard epoxy matrix systems. Silicon carbide (SiC) micro-particles provide complementary enhancements in hardness, thermal conductivity, and moisture barrier performance. Hybrid nanocomposites combining CNF and SiC have been proposed as systems that exploit synergistic interfacial interactions to simultaneously enhance tensile, flexural, impact, and viscoelastic properties beyond what either filler achieves individually. However, systematic characterisation of the full property matrix across CNF loading levels of 0-5 wt.% and the effect of fixed-proportion SiC co-addition on storage modulus retention under hygrothermal ageing remains sparsely reported for aerospace-grade DGEBA/TETA epoxy systems. This study characterises neat epoxy, CNF/epoxy binary nanocomposites at 1-5 wt.% CNF, and a ternary hybrid (3 wt.% CNF + 2 wt.% SiC) across tensile, flexural, impact, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and moisture absorption testing protocols. Optimal mechanical properties are achieved at 3 wt.% CNF: tensile strength 74.2 MPa (76.2% above neat epoxy), flexural strength 114.3 MPa (67.1% improvement), and impact energy 34.1 kJ/m² (87.4% improvement). The hybrid nanocomposite attains storage modulus of 3580 MPa at 30°C with glass transition temperature (Tg) of 138°C versus 112°C for neat epoxy, and equilibrium moisture absorption of 0.69% versus 1.41% for neat epoxy after 168-hour water immersion.

Keywords: carbon nanofibre, silicon carbide, hybrid nanocomposite, epoxy, tensile strength, dynamic mechanical analysis, glass transition temperature, moisture absorption, aerospace, DGEBA

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