Study of Statistical Distribution and Morphology of Particles in a Polymer Matrix by Foldscope Imaging Technique

Design and material engineers are focusing on strengthening and toughening of the polymer matrix by introducing secondary particles. However, particle distribution is a control parameter to ensure the properties of polymer materials. Further, the agglomeration of the fine particle affects polymer composite performance. The chosen process may affect the statistical distribution and aggregation of secondary particles in the polymer composite. There is a lack of simple and affordable technique to evaluate the particle distribution, morphology and degree of agglomeration of particles in the polymer matrix. In this paper, the origami crafted microscope called foldscope is used to find out the particle distribution in the polymer matrix. Initially, the fillers/particles are mixed in the epoxy matrix through an ultra-sonication technique. The experiments are conducted by varying the size of filler (30, 80 and 120 grit) with sonication parameters such as power rate (70, 80 and 100%) and processing time T_on (45, 90 and 135 s) with constant 3% filler in weight. With the above parameters, Taguchi L17 array was constructed, and the process parameters were optimized to the high degree of uniform distribution. From the particulate polymer composite, the images captured by foldscope were further analyzed by ImageJ technique for determination of the statistical distribution of particles. The processing parameters of 80% power, T_on 135 s for 120 grit size exhibited excellent particle distribution and higher tensile strength.