Abstract
Experimental studies are presented on quasi-static tensile and compressive loading of composites hybridised at two levels: intraply and interply. Consistent reinforcements in the form of novel unidirectional fabrics were developed using T700SC carbon and E-CR glass fibres. Composites were manufactured using Resin Transfer Moulding process with epoxy resin and characterised to ensure consistency and comparability, further enabling easier understanding and confirmation of hybrid effect in a reliable way. Failure strain in tension for interply hybrid revealed a positive hybrid effect of +7.4%, while interply hybrid showed a negative hybrid effect of −6.4% in compression. Intraply hybrid with three carbon and three glass tows blocked together demonstrated the best mechanical performance among all hybrids; synergistic effects of +17.8% and +39.6% in tensile and compressive strength, respectively, was observed for this hybrid configuration. The results show that different hybridisation strategies can be exploited to balance cost and performance of composites for structural and lightweight applications.
Highlights
Several fibre types and resin systems are available to designers who aim to achieve composite product properties such as high specific strength, high specific stiffness, enhanced energy absorption and reduced cost
Considering the overwhelming industrial need for hybrid composites. and that carbon and glass fibres are the most popular reinforcements for usage in structural and semi-structural applications, the current study explored in depth the hybrid configurations and hybrid effects in tensile and compression loading conditions for C/G hybrids made from high strength T700S carbon and E-CR glass fibres
The density measurements and the fibre content from the burn-off tests are presented in Table 2 and it can be seen that the fibre Volume Fraction (FVF) for all composites is comparable
Summary
Several fibre types and resin systems are available to designers who aim to achieve composite product properties such as high specific strength, high specific stiffness, enhanced energy absorption and reduced cost. A composite made from a single reinforcing material may not be suitable if it undergoes different loading conditions during its service life and has to satisfy multiple performance conditions. Fibre hybrid composites are a logical evolution towards even more design freedom and more possibility for performance optimisation and cost reduction [1,2]. For these composites depending on the way the fibre constituents are brought together, there exist three configurations: interply hybrids or ply level hybrids, intraply hybrids or tow level hybrids and intermingled hybrids or fibre level hybrids. While interply hybrids have received lot of attention in previous studies, the intraply hybrids, those which are not based on woven fabrics, have been rarely reported
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