Mechanical, thermogravimetric, and dynamic mechanical behavior of high-performance textile structural composite panels for automotive applications

Abstract

The present study investigates the mechanical behavior of the textile structural composite (TSC) panels produced from different textile structures such as chopped fibre, unidirectional (UD), bidirectional (2D plain), and three-dimensional (3D) orthogonal woven structures using two different high-performance fibres (glass and basalt) for automotive components such as door and bonnet of a car. These composite specimens were manufactured by vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis was carried out to evaluate morphological damage and fractography of fabricated composites. In addition, the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of the TSC panels were also carried out. Basalt fibre reinforced textile structural composites (BFRTSC) exhibited higher specific tensile, flexural, and impact strength as compared to glass fibre reinforced textile structural composites (GFRTSC). The basalt UD preform reinforced composite panels show a ∼ 372 % increment in specific tensile strength, ∼ 436 % increment in specific flexural strength, and ∼ 818 % increment in specific impact strength as compared to the conventional metallic automotive components. The TGA and DMA confirmed that the developed BFRTSC panels are thermally stable and exhibited higher storage modulus compared to GFRTSC panels. The developed TSC panels are considered a potential candidate to replace traditional metallic counterparts in automotives.