The mechanical properties of composites with dispersed diamond particles in epoxy matrix cured with different proportions of hardener to monomer ratio, characterized by the resin/hardener ratio (phr) were studied. An investigation on the thermo-mechanical behavior of these composites was also carried out by dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA). In the present work a complete evaluation of the mechanical properties was carried in a wide interval of phr associated with possible technological applications. Composites with up to 30 wt. % of diamond particles dispersed in type DGEBA/TETA epoxy matrix were fabricated with phr ratios varying from 7 to 21. For all investigated conditions, the composite strength decreased with the amount of incorporated diamond. Matrices with phr above the stoichiometric 13 were associated with composites with better mechanical performance. The DMA results showed that the storage modulus increases with the amount of diamond particles incorporated in the composite. The values obtained for the delta tangent, allowed an evaluation of possible mechanisms that contribute to the thermal mechanical performance of these composites.
Composites; diamond particles; epoxy matrix; phr ratio; DMA-thermal analysis
