Erosive Wear Behavior of Fiberglass Reinforced Epoxy Laminate Composites Modified with SiO2 Nanoparticles Fabricated by Resin Infusion

This work presents a study on the erosive wear behavior of laminated composites, manufactured using the vacuum assisted resin infusion (VARI) method with an epoxy matrix reinforced with glass fibers and modified with SiO2 nanoparticles. Three materials were fabricated with SiO2 nanoparticle concentrations of 0, 1.5, and 3 wt% to evaluate the effect of nanoparticle addition and dispersion on mechanical and microstructural properties, as well as erosion resistance. The results showed that the FG-1.5-SiO2 composite, containing 1.5 wt% SiO2 nanoparticles, exhibited the best nanoparticle dispersion, as evidenced by FTIR, GIXRD, and SEM analyses. This material displayed the lowest surface roughness (Ra = 0.215 μm), the highest Vickers hardness (35.58), and the highest modulus of elasticity (19.66 GPa), indicating an effective load transfer and adequate interfacial interaction. In erosion tests, the FG-1.5-SiO2 material demonstrated the lowest total mass loss (0.0261 mg) and the lowest erosion rate (2.3360E-5 mg/g), representing an approximately 38 % improvement in erosion resistance compared to the reference material without nanoparticles (FG-0-SiO2). Profilometry and SEM analyses confirmed that this composite FG-1.5-SiO2 exhibited less severe erosional damage, with shallower wear depth, characterized by less matrix removal and a stronger fiber-matrix interface. On the other hand, the composite with 3 wt% SiO2 (FG-3-SiO2) showed poor dispersion and agglomeration, resulting in increased roughness, lower mechanical properties, and erosion resistance similar to that of the material without nanoparticle reinforcement. This was attributed to the agglomerates acting as stress concentrators and structural defects that facilitate material detachment.