Glass Fabric Layers Research Articles

Electromagnetic interference shielding, mechanical, and flame retardant behaviors of Ti3C2Tx-MXene/glass fabric epoxy hybrid composites

This study investigates the manufacturability and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMI-SE) of Ti3C2Tx/MXene-coated glass fabric laminated composites for aerospace applications. MXene-coated fabrics were produced using a dip-coating method. The effects of varying dipping counts (5 and 10) and different configurations of fabric arrangements on the EMI-SE of the composites in the X-band range (8.2–12.4 GHz) were investigated. Glass fabrics with 5 and 10 dips showed average surface resistances of 38.56 Ω/sq and 23.17 Ω/sq, respectively. In both the 5- and 10-dip composite sets, the total EMI-SE increased with the number of MXene-coated glass fabric layers in the composite. The 5MXC5 and 10MXC5 specimens, with conductive fabric in all layers, had average total shielding effectiveness (SET) of −18.75 dB and −23.21 dB, respectively. These values are 147.05 % and 205.80 % higher than the neat glass fiber-epoxy composite (C1). Flammability, bending, ILSS, and hardness tests were conducted on these composites. Increasing the MXene content reduced the burning rate, with 10MXC5 exhibiting a 26.31 % lower burning rate compared to C1. However, higher MXene content slightly decreased bending and ILSS values. Optical microscope examination of the fracture surfaces revealed that this decrease was due to delamination damage.

Impact of nano-marble dust on characteristic development of sisal-jute hybrid composites

Environmental awareness brings the attention towards the biodegradable natural fibre composites in most of the industrial and manufacturing sectors. The light weight, low cost, ease-in-availability, biodegradability and non-toxic inherited nature of natural fibres have predominated over the synthetic fibres. Jute hybrid composites are very common from the early decades for their superior mechanical performance. In this research work, the woven form of natural fabric like jute and sisal has been hybridised with synthetic S-glass fabrics have been reinforced in epoxy matrix by most convenient and economic hand layup process. The nano-marble dust, the waste of marble industry was used as filler in the hybrid composites. The natural fabrics are mercerised before fabrication for improvement in fibre texture in order to get better interfacial bonding, as waste materials, wax, lignin contents and other foreign ingredients are removed by the process. The various characteristics such as physical, mechanical and thermal are studied for the prepared composite specimens. It is observed that the tensile strength of the composite improved drastically due to the presence of nano-marble dust. The impact strength is also enhanced due to the addition of nano-marble dust and more no. of glass fabric layers in composite. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that the composite containing nano-marble dust and glass fibre mat exhibited maximum degradation temperature of 410.4°C.

Visualizing pseudo‐ductility in carbon/glass fiber hybrid composites manufactured using infusible thermoplastic Elium® resin

AbstractIn this study, two different type of glass and carbon fiber hybrid laminates were manufactured using a low‐viscosity thermoplastic resin that is, Elium®. A detailed microstructure visualization study was conducted using X‐ray computed tomography (XCT) analysis. The viscoelastic properties were examined through dynamic mechanical analysis. The mechanical performance was investigated through flexural and tensile tests along with a fractographic study using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The XCT analysis revealed a weak interface between the Elium® resin and the glass fabric, with glass fiber specimens exhibiting a void content of 1.24%, in contrast to the carbon fiber specimens which showed void content of only 0.28%. Therefore, adding glass fabric layers in the hybrid laminates increased the void content, which had a negative impact on the overall mechanical performance. The average flexural strength of the hybrid specimen having G2C4G2 stacking sequence was observed to be 254% higher than pure GFRPC specimens. Similarly, the tensile strength and Young's modulus of the same hybrid specimen showed 155% and 380% increases, respectively, compared to the GFRPC specimens. This increase was primarily due to higher stiffness of the carbon fibers and their better fiber – matrix interface. Whereas the tensile strain of the hybrid specimen having G3C2G3 stacking sequence was 37% higher than that of the CFRPC specimens. The SEM images highlighted fiber fracture and brittle failure modes in the carbon fiber specimens, in contrast to fiber pullout, interfacial failure, poor fiber‐matrix bonding and ductile failure modes in the glass fiber specimens.

Transparent Fiber-Reinforced Composites Based on a Thermoset Resin Using Liquid Composite Molding (LCM) Techniques.

In this study, optically transparent glass fiber-reinforced polymers (tGFRPs) were produced using a thermoset matrix and an E-glass fabric. In situ polymerization was combined with liquid composite molding (LCM) techniques both in a resin transfer molding (RTM) mold and a lite-RTM (L-RTM) setup between two glass plates. The RTM specimens were used for mechanical characterization while the L-RTM samples were used for transmittance measurements. Optimization in terms of the number of glass fabric layers, the overall degree of transparency of the composite, and the mechanical properties was carried out and allowed for the realization of high mechanical strength and high-transparency tGFRPs. An outstanding degree of infiltration was achieved maintaining up to 75% transmittance even when using 29 layers of E-glass fabric, corresponding to 50 v.% fiber, using an L-RTM setup. RTM specimens with 44 v.% fiber yielded a tensile strength of 435.2 ± 17.6 MPa, and an E-Modulus of 24.3 ± 0.7 GPa.

Investigation of the impact and post-impact behaviour of glass and glass/natural fibre hybrid composites made with various stacking sequences: Experimental and theoretical analysis

In the present work, impact and post-impact response of thermoset composite laminates manufactured from glass, flax, jute fabrics and their hybrid combinations (glass/jute and glass/flax) made with various stacking sequences was studied. The low-velocity impact response of these laminates was investigated by drop-weight impact tests at different energy levels (20–50 J). Additionally, their post-impact behaviour was studied by compression after impact tests, measuring their residual compressive strength. Impact test results showed that glass composites had higher impact resistance than natural and hybrid composites. Moreover, the hybrid composites with glass fabric layers in the exterior resulted in better impact resistance compared to composites where glass fabric layers were placed in the interior with flax or jute fabrics. It was also observed that natural and hybrid composites absorbed more energy than that of glass composites between 20 and 40 J. Glass composites exhibited higher compression and compression after impact strength than natural and hybrid composites. However, hybrid composites had higher compression after impact strength retention (%) than glass composites due to less fibre damages. The numerical analysis was also conducted to simulate the intra-laminar damages and delamination failures. Good agreement was observed between numerical and experimental results.

Fabrication and Testing of Glass/Banana Hybridized Epoxy Mono Composite Leaf Spring under Static Loading

This study makes use of E glass fiber and Banana fiber woven mats for the development of the hybrid composite mono leaf spring. Six composite laminates for selecting the optimum stack sequence were fabricated, four hybrids and two standalone using epoxy as matrix. From the flexural tests, two hybrid combinations were selected for fabricating the mono leaf spring. Among the hybrid composites, the one with three layers of glass fabric on the outside displayed maximum bending strength of 99.6 MPa. Composite mono leaf spring with three layers of glass fabric on the outside exhibited lower deflection when compared to conventional leaf spring. Results indicate that mono composite leaf spring has the potential to be used as an alternative to conventional leaf spring with continual research.

The Laser Interlaminar Reinforcement of Continuous Glass Fiber Composites

Interlaminar crack initiation and propagation are a major mode of failure in laminate fiber reinforced composites. A laser reinforcement process is developed to bond layers of glass fabric prior to the vacuum-assisted transfer molding of laminate composites. Glass fabric layers are bonded by fusing a dense glass bead to fibers within the laser focal volume, forming a 3D reinforcement architecture. Coupled heat transfer and viscous flow modeling is used to capture the temperature and morphology evolution of glass during the reinforcement process under experimentally observed conditions. Mode I double cantilever beam (DCB) testing is performed to quantify the effects of laser interlaminar reinforcements on composite delamination resistance. Postmortem high-resolution imaging of the fracture surface is used to characterize the toughening mechanism of the interlaminar reinforcements. Improved delamination resistance of laser reinforced composites derives from crack arrest and deflection mechanisms, showing a positive correlation to the reinforcement thickness.

A study of thermal diffusivity of carbon-epoxy and glass-epoxy composites using the modified pulse method

Abstract Transient heat transfer is studied and compared in two planeparallel composite walls and one EPIDIAN 53 epoxy resin wall acting as a matrix for both composites. The first of the two walls is made of carbonepoxy composite; the other wall is made of glass-epoxy composite, both with comparable thickness of about 1 mm and the same number of carbon and glass fabric layers (four layers). The study was conducted for temperatures in the range of 20-120 °C. The results of the study of thermal diffusivity which characterizes the material as a heat conductor under transient conditions have a preliminary character. Three series of tests were conducted for each wall. Each series took about 24 h. The results from the three series were approximated using linear functions and were found between (0.7-1.35)×10−7m2/s. In the whole range of temperature variation, the thermal diffusivity values for carbon-epoxy composite are from 1.2 to 1.5 times higher than those for the other two materials with nearly the same thermal diffusivity characteristics.

Experimental Investigation on Static Mechanical Properties of Glass/Carbon Hybrid Woven Fabric Composite Laminates

Woven fabric reinforced polymeric composites are increasingly used in automotive and aircraft application in place of conventional metals due to their high specific strength. However in actual practice while using glass fabric layers, the large nominal size of the component was required and which facilitates increased total weight of the component. In the present investigation, glass laminate is modified and strengthened by interplying high modulus carbon fiber plies for attaining good strength to weight ratio. All laminates were fabricated using hand layup method. Mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural and impact strengths of dedicated and hybrid laminates were evaluated and reported.

Acoustic Insulation Property of V-Structure Glass Fabric Reinforced PVC Composites

In this paper, four models of PVC composites reinforced with glass fabric were designed based on the arrangement of the V-structure, using V-structure discontinuous glass fabric as the sandwich structure and PVC resin as matrix. The acoustic insulation properties of the composites with V-structure discontinuous glass fabric as the sandwich structure were analyzed with a two-channel acoustic analyzer. The results show that the orientation of the V-structure has a strong effect on the acoustic insulation property. In the case where the raw material, thickness and density of the V-PVC composites are almost the same, the composite with the opening of the V-structure toward the source of sound shows better acoustic insulation than that with the opening of the V-structure away from the sound source. This difference is even more pronounced with increasing layers of glass fabric.

Effect of Processing Techniques Used for Improvement of Mechanical Properties of Glass Fiber Epoxy Nano Composites

The incorporation of carbon nanofibers with a high aspect ratio and extremely large surface area into glass/epoxy polymers improve their mechanical properties significantly. Previously large number of efforts have been made to improve mechanical properties by mixing carbon nanofibers into resin, however, it may raise high viscosities which create difficulties during manufacturing of polymer composite samples. Presently, an attempt has been made to improve mechanical properties of nanocomposites by using, a different technique i.e spraying the Carbon nanoFibers (CNF) on glass fabric layers before impregnating it with epoxy resin. This paper presents influence of two different processing techniques used for manufacturing of polymer nanocomposites. Firstly, solution was prepared to obtain well dispersed epoxy resin filled with 1.0 wt % CNF, to impregnate carbon fabric in a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) setup for sampling. Secondly, the nanocomposite samples were prepared using a spraying methodology i.e dispersing the CNF solution on carbon fabric and followed by VARTM. Tensile, compression and flexural tests were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of CNF addition on the improvement of mechanical properties by using both techniques. Results indicated, CNF addition offered simultaneous increase in mechanical properties in different percentages by using both the processes respectively. SEM analysis of fractured surfaces has also been carried out to examine the micro structural details of in-depth study.

Hybrid composites made of carbon and glass woven fabrics under quasi-static loading

Experimental studies are presented on in-plane mechanical properties for two types of hybrid composites made using 8H satin weave T300 carbon fabrics and plain weave E-glass fabrics with epoxy resin. Results are also presented for 8H satin weave T300 carbon/epoxy and plain weave E-glass/epoxy. Studies are carried out under both tensile and compressive in-plane quasi-static loading. It is observed that for hybrid composites, placing glass fabric layers in the exterior and carbon fabric layers in the interior gives higher tensile strength and ultimate tensile strain than placing carbon fabric layers in the exterior and glass fabric layers in the interior. Quantitative data is given for different mechanical properties.

Study on the Electrical Behavior of MWCNTs in GF/Epoxy Composites

The multi-wall nanotubes (MWCNTs) were divisionalized equably by the fabric of glass in composites. Then the electrical properties such as permittivity, conductance and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) of MWCNTs in GF/EP composite were studied. The effect of the content and dispersion of MWCNTs were researched in this work. Firstly the permittivity of MWCNTs/GF/EP composites were studied respectively by keeping layers of glass fabric and increasing content of MWCNTs or keeping content of MWCNTs and changing layers of glass fabric in electromagnetic wave band (5.85-18 GHz). Then the conductance of MWCNTs/GF/EP composites with different MWCNTs contents was tested. Furthermore, the EMI SE of composites with different MWCNTs contents in electromagnetic wave band (5.85-18 GHz) were studied. In addition, the morphologies of MWCNTs/GF/EP composites with the different MWCNTs weight percent were observed. The results show that the real part of permittivity of composites can be improved highest up to 75 and the imaginary part increase maximum up to 80. However there is no disciplinarian about effect of layers of glass fabric on dielectric property. The MWCNTs/GF/EP composite can be changed from the insulator to the semiconductor along with increasing the weight percent of MWCNTs. In electromagnetic wave band 5.85-18 GHz, the values of SE are increasing with increasing content of the MWCNTs.

Tensile behaviours of woven fabrics and laminates

The tensile strength of woven fabrics made of staple fibres was investigated. It was found that the tensile strength is greater than the total strength of the yarns in the testing direction; this is attributed to the so called fabric assistance. When a filament was employed, the fabric assistance was not as pronounced because of the smooth filament surface. Laminates with various layers of glass fabric were fabricated and their tensile strength was measured. Comparison of the tensile strength was made between laminates with different layers. The results showed that the strength of the multi-layer laminates was proportional to the increased number of layers. Bending behaviours of laminates with various layers were also investigated in the research.

The effect of intumescents on the burning behaviour of polyester-resin-containing composites

Abstract Recently we have shown that the introduction of an intumescent/flame retardant fibre system to a rigid composite comprising a textile reinforcing element (e.g. woven glass fabric layers) and a resin may generate additional char with respect to the additive contributions of all components present when studied using thermogravimetric techniques. This paper presents the results of cone calorimetric experiments of a series of composites comprising a combination of glass reinforcing elements, selected intumescents (based on melamine phosphate), the flame retardant Visil fibre and selected unsaturated polyester resins. Results show that the introduction of the intumescent/Visil can significantly reduce the peak heat release values and in some cases the peak smoke intensities evolved by composite samples exposed to 50 kW m−2 heat flux. Furthermore, mass loss rates are reduced and residual chars are increased. There is a clear indication that we have established a novel route to increasing the fire resistant properties of rigid composites.

Static Behavior of Pultruded GFRP Beams

This paper presents the experimental and theoretical characterizations of mechanical properties of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) wide flange and box beams. Static response of pultruded beams was studied by conducting a total of 187 tests and evaluating shear influence, shear lag, warping, and manufacturing quality. Experimental results revealed that fiber asymmetry and interfacial slip between fabric layers affect the beam stiffness. Experimental observations of shear lag and warping phenomena have been discussed. Test results showed that interfacial slip between adjacent glass fabric layers had a significant influence on strain measurement. Shear deflections were found to be significant in relation to bending deflections. Computations of bending and shear stiffness of GFRP beams using simplified theoretical expressions have been summarized with an example. Moment versus curvature ( M -φ) relationships for the test beams exhibited a linear relationship nearly up to failure. Failure patterns for wide flange and box beams under static loads are described.