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Abstract
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Nanoscale reinforcements are increasingly being used to improve mechanical, electrical and thermal behavior of polymers. In this study, the effects of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) epoxy filler on the tensile strength of adhesively bonded butt joints were investigated in a variety of environments. Firstly, dry butt joints with different RGO contents were tested using a uni-axial tensile test machine and it was observed that the joints reinforced with 0.5 wt.% RGO showed 22% higher strength than the joints without RGO reinforcements. Secondly, the effects of moisture, salt environment, and dry heat condition were investigated on the strength of the butt joints with different RGO contents. Results show that RGO particles significantly improve the strength values of the joints exposed to moist and dry heat conditions, but have less effect in salt environments.
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