Authors: Bommineni Nagavenu
Abstract: Fly ash filled polymer composites offer a route for combining the structural contribution of E-glass fiber with particulate reinforcement derived from an industrial residue. This work experimentally compares three polyester-based formulations: S1, neat polyester resin; S2, 60 wt.% polyester resin with 40 wt.% E-glass fiber; and S3, 40 wt.% polyester resin, 40 wt.% E-glass fiber and 20 wt.% fly ash. Composite laminates were produced by hand lay-up and cured under room-temperature conditions. The project specimens were subsequently evaluated using pendulum impact testing and Rockwell hardness testing. The reported impact-energy values were 0.611, 0.738 and 0.865 N-m/mm² for S1, S2 and S3, respectively. Relative to S1, S2 and S3 showed increases of approximately 20.8% and 41.6%, respectively. The source report also records Rockwell hardness values of 97, 75.3 and 275 for S1–S3; however, the S3 value and the associated hardness discussion are internally inconsistent and should be rechecked against the original laboratory record before publication. The impact results nevertheless indicate that the hybrid E-glass/fly-ash formulation provided the highest reported impact-energy response among the investigated compositions.
