Some aspects of the tensile strength of unidirectional glass fibre–polymethyl methacrylate composite used in dentures

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the tensile strength and E‐modulus of unidirectional denture glass fibre–polymethyl methacrylate (GF–PMMA) composite with various fibre contents. The experimental values of tensile strength and E‐modulus were compared with values obtained by a theoretical calculation. Autopolymerized PMMA test specimens (n = 6, per group) were reinforced with unidirectional E‐glass fibres which had been wetted in a mixture of PMMA powder and monomer liquid. After storing the test specimens for 40 days in water at 37 °C, the tensile strength and E‐modulus of the test specimens were measured. The increased amount of fibres in the PMMA matrix (up to 14·8% by weight) increased the mean tensile strength of the test specimens from 40·5 MPa to 91·2 MPa (P < 0·001) and the E‐modulus from 2057 MPa to 3751 MPa (P < 0·001). The experimental tensile strength and E‐modulus values were considerably lower than those based on the theoretical calculations. This was assumed to be due to the percentage of glass fibres unimpregnated with the PMMA resin. The presence of unimpregnated glass fibres was determined using light microscopy. The results of this study suggest that a new method of incorporating the glass fibres into the PMMA resin matrix should be developed in order to obtain a well‐impregnated fibre composite reinforcement with high durability.