Publications

Statistical analysis of compositional factors affecting the compressive strength of alumina-loaded epoxy (ALOX)

Lee, Moo Y.; Montgomery, Stephen M.

Detailed statistical analysis of the experimental data from testing of alumina-loaded epoxy (ALOX) composites was conducted to better understand influences of the selected compositional properties on the compressive strength of these ALOX composites. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for different models with different sets of parameters identified the optimal statistical model as, y{sub l} = -150.71 + 29.72T{sub l} + 204.71D{sub l} + 160.93S{sub 1l} + 90.41S{sub 2l}-20.366T{sub l}S{sub 2l}-137.85D{sub l}S{sub 1l}-90.08D{sub l}S{sub 2l} where y{sub l} is the predicted compressive strength, T{sub l} is the powder type, D{sub l} is the density as the covariate for powder volume concentration, and S{sub il}(i=1,2) is the strain rate. Based on the optimal statistical model, we conclude that the compressive strength of the ALOX composite is significantly influenced by the three main factors examined: powder type, density, and strain rate. We also found that the compressive strength of the ALOX composite is significantly influenced by interactions between the powder type and the strain rate and between the powder volume concentration and the strain rate. However, the interaction between the powder type and the powder volume concentration may not significantly influence the compressive strength of the ALOX composite.