Force-displacement analysis of PMMA/zircon composites using dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA)

In the study, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/zircon (ZrSiO4) composites were successfully prepared using the liquid method at different compositions of 1, 2.5, and 5 wt% of zircon. The zircon filler was processed from a natural, local zircon sand and was processed via a top-down method using wet ball-milling for 5 and 15 h as well as annealing at temperature of 200 °C for 1 h. The force-displacement curves of the composites have been acquired using a DMA (dynamic mechanical analyzer) technique in tensile mode. XRD (x-ray diffraction) data of the composites were collected and analyzed in order to examine the present phases and used as the evidence of the formation of the composites. Furthermore, MAUD software was used to estimate the crystallite size of the filler. Results indicated that zircon crystallite size for 15 h wet ball-milling was smaller than that of 5 h. Furthermore, the maximum DMA force (also representing stress) for the composite with smaller filler was generally higher than that of 5 h, ca. by 2.5 times. In addition, in general, the composites exhibited an increasing slope of force-displacement curve with increasing amount of filler.