Investigation on tensile behavior of glass-fiber reinforced polymer matrix composite with varying orientations of fibers

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to develop a new polymer based composite material having different reinforcement angle orientations and studies its tensile behavior. For fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites E-2 glass fiber reinforcement and epoxy resin for matrix is used. E-2 g1ass fiber has high strength, chemical resistance and good insulating properties. Epoxy being less viscous allows good adhesion to fibers used in laminate preparation, without misalignment of fibers. Hand layup technique has been adopted for preparation of laminate. Glass fibers are laid, mixture of epoxy resin and hardener is smeared on it alternately, until laminate of desired thickness is achieved, and is left to atmosphere for curing. 2.5 mm laminate is prepared by placing glass fibers of 0.25 mm thickness one above the other. The prepared laminate is then taken for cutting according to ASTM standards (D3039) of 3 sets of rectangular specimens. For first set comprises of 90° angle-oriented specimen, second and third sets for 45° and 30° respectively. These specimens are subjected to tensile test in Lloyd UTM and load being applied gradually at the rate of 2 mm/min is continued until the material fails. The computer simulation plots the graph during the entire testing process and stops when the material fails.