Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane Nanocomposite Coatings Reinforced with Silicon Carbide and Alumina Particles

The presence of nanoparticles in the polymer matrix will cause an increase in the mechanical performance of nano-composite. In this research the nature of reinforcing material was investigated by mixing pure polyurethane with two different nanoparticles, silicon carbide or alumina. The composition was selected in three levels; 1, 2.5 and 5 in weight percent. The dispersion and distribution of nanoparticles were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Adhesion, abrasion and hardness tests were applied to study the physical properties of the coated layers. The results were confirmed that in case of silicon carbide by increasing the amount of additive to 5%, all the adhesion, abrasion and hardness values reduced. While by substituting alumina with silicon carbide this trend has been changed to a positive value. Polyurethane-5% Alumina nanoparticles shows 25% increase in adhesion, 23% increase in abrasion and the hardness increases from 3H to 5H.