Epoxy resins are widely used in structural and protective coatings, but their brittleness and crack growth limit use in demanding applications. Improving toughness in epoxy and related polymers is still a challenge. In this work, epoxy-MgO nanocomposites were studied to evaluate their mechanical performance and fracture behavior. Tests included ultimate tensile strength, Young's modulus, and fracture surface analysis. In addition, skewness (Rsk) and kurtosis (Rku) were used as quantitative measures of the fracture surfaces. Results showed that adding MgO nanoparticles improved both strength and stiffness compared with pure epoxy, while the mid-range MgO contents gave the best results. Fracture surface observations confirmed that the nanoparticles created more uniform and less crack-sensitive morphologies than in pure epoxy. These findings indicate that MgO nanoparticles enhance the stability and fracture toughness of epoxy. Skewness and kurtosis provided useful parameters for characterizing fractures among the composites. This study also shows how statistical descriptions of surface morphology can be linked with mechanical behavior. The results offer guidance for optimizing nanoparticle design in structural and functional nanocomposite applications.
Citation: Muhannad Mahdi Abd, Ali Jalil Mjali, Salahaldin Mansur Baseem Alduwaib. Correlation between fracture surface topography, skewness, and kurtosis with mechanical properties in epoxy-MgO nanocomposites[J]. AIMS Materials Science, 2025, 12(5): 993-1003. doi: 10.3934/matersci.2025045
Epoxy resins are widely used in structural and protective coatings, but their brittleness and crack growth limit use in demanding applications. Improving toughness in epoxy and related polymers is still a challenge. In this work, epoxy-MgO nanocomposites were studied to evaluate their mechanical performance and fracture behavior. Tests included ultimate tensile strength, Young's modulus, and fracture surface analysis. In addition, skewness (Rsk) and kurtosis (Rku) were used as quantitative measures of the fracture surfaces. Results showed that adding MgO nanoparticles improved both strength and stiffness compared with pure epoxy, while the mid-range MgO contents gave the best results. Fracture surface observations confirmed that the nanoparticles created more uniform and less crack-sensitive morphologies than in pure epoxy. These findings indicate that MgO nanoparticles enhance the stability and fracture toughness of epoxy. Skewness and kurtosis provided useful parameters for characterizing fractures among the composites. This study also shows how statistical descriptions of surface morphology can be linked with mechanical behavior. The results offer guidance for optimizing nanoparticle design in structural and functional nanocomposite applications.
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Muhannad Mahdi Abd, Ali Jalil Mjali, Salahaldin Mansur Baseem Alduwaib. Correlation between fracture surface topography, skewness, and kurtosis with mechanical properties in epoxy-MgO nanocomposites[J]. AIMS Materials Science, 2025, 12(5): 993-1003. doi: 10.3934/matersci.2025045
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