Improvement the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of glass fiber reinforced phenolic resin by using epoxidized soybean oil

In this study, the epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) was successfully synthesized from soybean oil based on its double bond, and used to synthesize the ESO-modified phenolic resin via reaction between ESO, phenol and formaldehyde. The ESO contents used in this study vary in range from 0 to 40 wt%. Then, the obtained ESO modified phenolic resin (ESO-PR) was used as resin matrices to fabricate glass-fiber-based composites by using prepreg technique. The chemical structures of both epoxidized soybean oil and phenolic resin modified with epoxidized soybean oil were confirmed with the help of Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The mechanical characteristics of fabricated composite materials examined include the tensile property, flexural property, impact property as well as the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness, while the morphology composite materials were also confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. The test results showed that at 20 wt% of ESO-PR, the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness for both propagation and initiation, the tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength were increased by 78.3 and 84.5%, 7.0%; 20.5 and 39.7%, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation indicated that the fracture surface of the modified composite was rougher when compared to the fracture surface of the pristine composite, and hence more energy was needed for the crack to propagate.