Testing and Evaluation of the Mechanical Strength of New Epoxy and Silk Composite Materials

This study describes the testing and assessment of the mechanical strength of a novel epoxy–silk composite material. Owing to their attractive characteristics, including high strength-to-weight ratio, low density, and enhanced mechanical performance, composite materials have received significant interest from various industries. This study aims to investigate the development and categorization of a novel composite material consisting of a Silk-epoxy Reinforced Polymer (SRP). The purpose of this study was to test and analyze the mechanical behavior of six layers of silk and epoxy composites through tensile, impact, hardness, and microscopy tests, followed by a comparison with another composite material consisting of Fiberglass-Reinforced Polymer (FRP). Both specimens were produced using a hand-layup approach, and the specimens were cut following the ASTM specifications for conducting the experiments. The experimental results confirmed that the maximum tensile stress for the novel composite material SRP was 8.56 MPa, with an elastic modulus of 640 MPa and Rockwell hardness value of 5.3 HV. The FRP composite exhibited good results, with a maximum tensile stress of 78.5 MPa, elastic modulus of 1800 MPa, and Rockwell hardness value of 33.3 HV. These results can be used in potential engineering applications, such as water tanks and pipelines.