Physical and Mechanical Characterization of Epoxy Based Polymer Composites for Marine Industry

Abstract

Composite materials are materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties, differ in forms, insoluble in each other, that when combined, produce a material with characteristics different from the individual components. The marine environment is recognized as the most corrosive natural environment and researchers have problem selecting material that will give good performance at reasonable cost. Fiber reinforced composites have been the alternatives of steel, metal and wood .Fiber reinforced composites are finding increased usage in load bearing structures in a variety of applications in marine , automotive and rail transport industries owing to their specific strength and stiffness properties. This may be due to their high specific tensile and compressive strength, good fatigue and corrosion resistance and their suitability for the production of complex-shape components with reduced manufacture times compared to conventional metallic materials..