A Study on the Effect of Graphene on the Vibrational and Flame Retardant Characteristics of the GFRP Composites

In this work, the graphene nanoplatelets were reinforced in the GFRP composites to improve their mechanical, vibrational, and flame retardant properties. Three nanocomposites plates namely G1 (GFRP+0.25 wt.% graphene), G2 (GFRP+0.5 wt.% graphene), G3 (GFRP+1 wt.% graphene), and a neat composite plate (G0) were fabricated using hand layup method followed by compression molding. The effect of graphene on the damping properties of the composites was studied by using a free vibration test. The reduction in natural frequency was witnessed in the nanocomposite material ensuring the effective interfacial bonding between the graphene and matrix. The rate of burning test results confirms that the addition of graphene resulted in improved flame retardancy due to the formation of a protective char layer. The highest tensile strength value was observed in the 0.5 wt.% graphene composites, which is ∼1.5 times higher than that of the neat composites. The strength reduction in 1 wt.% graphene composites is due to the percolation of graphene, which acts as a potential site for stress concentration. Unlike tensile strength, the shore hardness value increased with the wt.% of the graphene reinforcement. This study elaborates the synergetic effect of graphene on the mechanical and vibrational characteristics of the composites.