Abstract
In this study, a polymer based sandwich composite reinforced with unidirectional glass fiber and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam core was fabricated through hand lay-up technique and characterized for its mechanical behavior through tension, compression and fatigue tests. The main objective of the investigation is to prove that the fiber orientation in the foam composite affects the mechanical behavior of the composite significantly. The sandwich composite panel was fabricated for three different orientations of unidirectional glass fiber such as 0° / +90° / PET foam / −90° / 0°, 0° / +45° / PET foam / −45° / 0° and 0° / +30° / PET foam/ −30° / 0°. The analysis of mechanical behavior for the composite revealed the fact that the maximum flexural strength and tensile strength was observed for 30° fiber orientation and the maximum compression strength was observed for 90° fiber orientatione in the composite. It was therefore, noticed that the orientation of the unidirectional glass fiber in the composite affected the mechanical behavior of the composite to a significant level. The inter locking strength between the matrix and reinforcement in the composite, which was due to presence of PET foam in the middle layer and fiber orientation influences the mechanical strength of the composite appreciably.
Published Version
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