Influence of selective reinforcement in dynamic performance of glass-epoxy composites

Abstract

Polymer composites are in the growing trend of replacing the metallic materials because of their ability toenhance the properties. Property enhancement in composites can be achieved by selective positioning of reinforcement in the matrix and it is termed as selective reinforcement. The reliability of a component in dynamic application depends on the effect of loading parameters. The flexural modulus of glass epoxy composite laminate exposed to dynamic loadingis experimentally investigated. This study isan experimental simulation for a leaf spring application. Two different unidirectional (UD)laminate configurations, 0/R/0/0/0 and 0/0/0/0 are fabricated with and without selective reinforcementby hand lay-up technique. The Taguchi’s DOE and L9 orthogonal array with two loading parameters (frequency and load cycle) are used to plan the experiments. The specimens are exposed to cyclic load using a disc camwith a rise of 6 mm at 2.6 Hz, 4.6 Hz and 8.6 Hz frequencies for 11X103, 22X103 and 33X103 cycles. The flexural modulus of the cyclic loaded laminates is measured by three point bent test (ASTM D 790). Experimental results are statistically analyzed by ANOVA, S/N ratio and Regression analysis. There exists a proportional raise in the flexural modulus of the cyclic loaded laminate and a shift in the effect of the loading parameters on composite flexural modulus attributed to selective reinforcement.