Abstract
Tensile properties for paraffin wax and a nanocomposite produced with 2 wt.% Cloisite® 20A were measured within the temperature range of 10 to 30 °C. Young's modulus and maximum stress are significantly greater at 10 °C for the nanocomposite than those measured for the pure wax. Values for both materials decrease with increasing temperature and converge to where little difference exists as the wax enters a series of plastic crystalline states. Large enhancements in ductility for these nanocomposites reported previously are shown to be a consequence of a decrease in their brittle-ductile transition temperatures. Reduced crystallite size was observed via polarized optical microscopy for the nanocomposite and X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy demonstrate preferred alignments of wax lamellae and organo-clay platelets under strain. Results indicate that a combination of proximity to mesophases and influence of organo-clay on wax morphology and on the fracture mechanism account for the observed high ductility under ambient conditions.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 172-180 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Materials Science & Engineering A: Structural Materials: Properties, Microstructure and Processing |
Volume | 467 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 15 2007 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work is financially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (Project DE-FC36-04GO14309). The authors would like to thank Mark Calhoun for help in preparing and tensile testing of composite samples.
Keywords
- Brittle-ductile transition
- Nanocomposite
- Paraffin wax
- Preferred orientation
- Toughening mechanism