Analysis of the thermal expansion coefficient of glass- and carbon-fibre-reinforced composites

Abstract

With the development of manufacturing processes, an increase in the importance of metal-fibre composites in materials engineering is observed. These are materials consisting of appropriately arranged layers of metal and various types of fibres. The very wide use of composite materials in the construction of machine and equipment components means they are often exposed to work in variable temperature conditions. The aim of this article was analysis of the thermal expansion of typical composites: carbon fibre-reinforced polymer, glass fibre-reinforced polymer, glass-reinforced aluminium laminate and carbon-fibre reinforced aluminium laminate. EN AW-6060 aluminium alloy was used as the reference material. The aim of the dilatometric tests was to determine the coefficient of thermal expansion and the dimensional stability of composite materials at elevated temperatures up to 100 °C. The EN AW-6060 aluminium alloy was characterized by the highest linear expansion coefficient (20.27×10−6 1/K). Composites containing glass fibres were characterized by the lowest positive linear thermal expansion coefficient. Among the composite materials tested, CARALLs exhibit the lowest thermal expansion coefficient.