Glass Fabric Reinforced Research Articles

Experimental and Analytical Study of Tensile and Bond Performances of Glass Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix for Retrofit Applications on Concrete Surfaces

Experimental and Analytical Study of Tensile and Bond Performances of Glass Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix for Retrofit Applications on Concrete Surfaces

Surface Treatment Effect on the Mechanical and Thermal Behavior of the Glass Fabric Reinforced Polysulfone.

The chemical structure of the surface of glass fibers, including silanized fibers, was studied. Highly efficient heat-resistant composites were obtained by impregnating silanized glass fiber with a polysulfone solution, and the effect of modification of the surface of glass fibers on the physical, mechanical and thermophysical properties of the composite materials was studied. As a result of the study, it was found that the fiber-to-polymer ratio of 70/30 wt.% showed the best mechanical properties for composites reinforced with pre-heat-treated and silanized glass fibers. It has been established that the chemical treatment of the glass fibers with silanes makes it possible to increase the mechanical properties by 1.5 times compared to composites reinforced with initial fibers. It was found that the use of silane coupling agents made it possible to increase the thermal stability of the composites. Mechanisms that improve the interfacial interaction between the glass fibers and the polymer matrix have been identified. It has been shown that an increase in adhesion occurs both due to the uniform distribution of the polymer on the surface of the glass fibers and due to the improved wettability of the fibers by the polymer. An interpenetrating network was formed in the interfacial region, providing a chemical bond between the functional groups on the surface of the glass fiber and the polymer matrix, which was formed as a result of treating the glass fiber surface with silanes, It has been shown that when treated with aminopropyltriethoxysilane, significant functional unprotonated amino groups NH+/NH2+ are formed on the surface of the fibers; such free amino groups, oriented in the direction from the fiber surface, form strong bonds with the matrix polymer. Based on experimental data, the chemical structure of the polymer/glass fiber interface was identified.

Enhancing slender reinforced concrete columns with G-FRCM jackets: Experimental and numerical analysis of confinement effects and cross-sectional shape impact

This research investigates the use of Glass Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (G-FRCM) as a confinement material for slender reinforced concrete (RC) columns with slenderness ratios greater than the slenderness criterion for isolated members. An experimental program was conducted on six slender RC columns, including two control and four G-FRCM-confined specimens. The results demonstrated that the G-FRCM strengthening strategy was highly effective, with the compression resistance of the columns increasing by 22.1% and 55.5% for one and two layers of G-FRCM, respectively, compared to the control samples. The experimental results were used to implement and validate the non-linear behaviour of G-FRCM-confined RC columns, employing the Finite Element Method (FEM) through the ABAQUS software. The results, in terms of compression strength, were consistent compared to the experiments, with a difference of less than 5%. Additionally, a parametric investigation has also been conducted to analyse the influence of the slenderness ratio on the response of confined columns. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the use of G-FRCM as a highly effective confinement material for RC columns.

Defect Detection in Bidirectional Glass Fabric Reinforced Thermoplastics Based on 3-D-THz Imaging

Non-homogeneous, bi-directional glass fabric reinforced thermoplastic (GFRT) composites are used in the automobile industry to produce economic and environmentally friendly vehicles. Despite the fact that GFRT materials have superior mechanical characteristics and lower manufacturing cost compared with traditional materials, they are prone to significant deformation and defect emergence during the forming/manufacturing of parts from prefabricated laminates. Some defects, especially hidden ones like delamination and consolidation defects, can significantly reduce the mechanical properties of the final parts. It is essential to use 3D non-destructive testing (NDT) technology to detect and identify such hidden defects. This research investigates the ability of 3D THz imaging to detect hidden defects (i.e., delamination and consolidation) in GFRT composite materials. Frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) technique is used to generate 3D-THz cross-sectional images. Non-defective and defective samples with a thickness of 1.5mm have been measured with two 3D THz imaging systems operating in the frequency range from 238 to 316GHz and from 499 to 733 GHz. In addition, a simulation of the reflected FMCW spectrum is presented to analyze the measurements and intercompare the performance of the two imaging systems. A systematic analysis in a large sample set demonstrates that a delamination defect with a thickness of 125μm as well as a consolidation defect with a difference in thickness less than 0.4mm can be successfully detected by the 700-GHz imaging system.

Ballistic response of woven glass fabric-epoxy composites at low temperatures: Experimental investigation

The ability of Glass Fabric Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) composites in arresting a projectile during a ballistic impact is dependent on climatic conditions such as temperature since their mechanical properties vary with the same. In the present work, ballistic impact experiments were carried out on plain weave GFRP composites to evaluate their performance in low-temperature environments. Square sheets of plain weave GFRP were impacted by cylindrical projectiles at four different temperatures viz. -35°C, -15°C, 0°C, and at Room temperature. A gas gun was used to propel the projectiles and the velocities were measured using a High-speed camera while the temperatures were monitored using a Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD). Strain gauges were also attached at different locations on the samples to quantify the strains due to the projectile impact. The ballistic limit obtained from the test data was found to increase linearly with reducing temperature contrary to the general expectation of degradation in the ballistic performance of GFRP at low temperatures. The Lambert-Jonas equations were fit to the experimental data and the parameters were estimated. The results obtained also indicated a decrease in stress wave attenuation and an increase in tensile strains with the decrease in temperature.

Durability of a Glass Fabric-Reinforced Cementitious Matrix Composite under Different Environmental Conditions

The use of fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composites for strengthening and retrofitting of existing masonry structures is nowadays a well-established practice, due to the speed and ease of application, low invasiveness, and high performance-to-cost ratio. Among different FRCMs, those comprising glass fiber textiles (GFRCM) represent an excellent choice due to the good mechanical properties and low cost of the raw material. However, limited information is available on the effect of environmental conditions on the performance of GFRCM composites and on their long-term behavior. This paper investigates the effect of different environmental conditions on the tensile performance of a GFRCM composite comprised of a cement-based matrix reinforced with an open-mesh alkali-resistant glass textile. Namely, the effect of hygrothermal conditioning, saline environment, alkali environment, freeze-thaw cycles, and dry heat conditioning were considered. After conditioning, specimens were tested using a clamping-grip tensile test configuration and the effect of the various exposure was analyzed comparing the composite tensile strength, ultimate strain, and elastic modulus of conditioned and control specimens. The experimental results show a good performance of the tested GFRCM composite with respect to the conditions considered.

Three-Dimensional Permeability of Thick-Section Glass Fabric Reinforced Polymer Composite by Vacuum-Assisted Resin Infusion Molding

Abstract Determination of permeability of thick-section glass fabric preforms with fabric layers of different architectures is critical for manufacturing large, thick composite structures with complex geometry, such as wind turbine blades. The thick-section reinforcement permeability is inherently three-dimensional and needs to be obtained for accurate composite processing modeling and analysis. Numerical simulation of the liquid stage of vacuum-assisted resin infusion molding (VARIM) is important to advance the composite manufacturing process and reduce processing-induced defects. In this research, the 3D permeability of thick-section E-glass fabric reinforcement preforms is determined, and the results are validated by a comparison between flow front progressions from experiments and from numerical simulations using ansys fluent software. The orientation of the principal permeability axes were unknown prior to experiments. The approach used in this research differs from those in literature in that the through-thickness permeability is determined as a function of flow front positions along the principal axes and the in-plane permeabilities and is not dependent on the inlet radius. The approach was tested on reinforcements with fabric architectures which vary through-the-thickness direction, such as those in a spar cap of a wind turbine blade. The computational simulations of the flow-front progression through-the-thickness were consistent with experimental observations.

Mechanical and Abrasive Wear Performance of Titanium Di-Oxide Filled Woven Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites by Using Taguchi and EDAS Approach.

Two-body abrasive wear behavior of glass fabric reinforced (GC) epoxy and titanium dioxide (TiO2) filled composites have been conducted out by using a tribo test machine. GC and TiO2 filled GC composites were produced by the hand layup technique. The mechanical performances of the fabricated composites were calculated as per ASTM standards. Three different weight percentages were mixed with the polymer to develop the mechanical and abrasive wear features of the composites. Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS), a multi-criteria decision technique is applied to find the best filler content. Based on the output, 2wt% TiO2 filler gave the best result. Abrasive wear tests were used to compare GC and TiO2 filled GC composites. The abrasion wear mechanisms of the unfilled and TiO2 filled composites have also been studied by scanning electron microscopy. The outcome of the paper suggests the correct proportion of filler required for the resin in order to improve the wear resistance of the filled composites. Taguchi combined with Multi-Criteria Decision Method (MCDM) is used to identify the better performance of the TiO2 filled epoxy composites.

Thermomechanical Behavior of Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate-Bonded Flax/Glass Woven Fabric Reinforced Laminated Composites.

The development of sustainable and innovative products through solving the constantly raising demands of end users is one of the significant parts of research and development. Herein, the development of a green composite is reported with the reinforcement of naturally originated flax and artificial glass woven fabrics through incorporating with the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) resin. The glass fabrics were treated with silane and flax fabrics by using NaOH before the composite production to increase the affinity of fibers toward the resin. Composite panels were developed with four different ratios of glass and flax woven fabric reinforcement (100/0, 83.33/16.67, 50/50, and 0/100) to investigate their performance with the MDI resin. The composites were characterized by tensile and flexural analysis to investigate the mechanical performances. The thermogravimetric characteristics of the composites were examined for checking the thermal stability of the produced composites. The surface morphology was investigated for observing the surfaces of the composites before and after applying tensile loads. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) deployed EDX linear scanning was used for ensuring about the signals of different chemical constituents into the matrix. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was conducted for finding out the fingerprint of the chemical elements of the produced composites. Besides, the water absorption and moisture content tests were also conducted to examine the moisture absorption by the pure glass, flax, and hybrid composites. Further, statistical analysis of variances was performed to test the significance of the differences in the mechanical properties of the individual types of the composites developed. For investigating the relationship between the proportion of woven glass fabric in the reinforcement and the mechanical properties, regression analysis was used. The ANOVA test was also examined for checking the significance of the mechanical properties of the composites.

Preliminary Investigation of Aging Effects on Recycled Rubber Fiber Reinforced Bearings (RR-FRBs)

ABSTRACT The use of elastomeric bearings for base isolation is well established through several studies. This paper is mainly focused on an innovative Fiber-Reinforced Bearing (FRB) developed using recycled rubber (RR-FRBs) and glass fabric reinforcement. These bearings tend to have better dissipation capacity, low weight and reduced cost in comparison with conventional Laminated Rubber Bearings (LRBs). In the present study, accelerated aging tests were carried out to understand the effect of aging on RR-FRBs and their long-term performance. Results of the investigations are compared with the outcomes of tests performed on Neoprene (N-FRBs) and conventional LRBs.

Design and development of glass/basalt fiber reinforced composite material for automobile applications

The main focus of automotive industry is on developing and applying new materials and technologies for enhancing the comfort and security levels in the vehicles. To fulfill this requirement high strength and high modulus fiber reinforced composite structures play an important role in the automotive industry. The novelty in this research work is that the composite panel made by 2 D woven fabrics by using Glass and Basalt fabric material composite structure by suitable incorporation of panel design which enhanced the mechanical properties. The blend proportion of Glass and Basalt fabric reinforcement was 100% Glass, 100% Basalt and 50:50 Glass/Basalt fabrics. Hand lay-up process was adopted to fabricate the composite panels. Different sets of panel were produce by varying the curing time, pressure. The resultant panels were analyzed for the mechanical properties such as Tensile strength, Flexural strength and Impact strength tests. From the analysis of results the panel made by using 100% Basalt fabric with 20 bar pressure and 15 minutes curing time showed a better tensile strength of 95 MPa, flexural strength of 29.91 MPa and impact strength of 12.50 MPa. Similarly, the results of 50:50 Glass/Basalt fibre with 30 bar pressure and 15 minutes curing time showed a better tensile strength of 94.83 MPa, flexural strength of 29.51 MPa and impact strength of 12.30 MPa. The outcome of the findings is that the mechanical properties of panel are directly proportional to pressure and time and blend type.

Crashworthiness of Thermoplastic Woven Glass Fabric Reinforced Composite Tubes Manufactured by Pultrusion

In this paper, crashworthiness of thermoplastic woven fabric reinforced composite tubes were investigated. Thermoplastic composite tubes with various length (40 mm and 80 mm) and fiber yarn orientation with respective to lengthwise (0 °/90 °, 15 °/75 °, 30 °/60 ° and 45 °/45 °) were manufactured by pultrusion and welding from home-made woven glass fabric/PP prepreg sheets. Quasi-static axial compressive tests of the composite tubes were performed under various temperatures (298 K, 358 K, 398 K and 453 K). Three crushing modes were observed: progressive folding, splaying and weld seam cracking. The influence of fiber orientation, tube length-diameter ratio and testing temperature on the peak load, mean load, specific energy absorption and crush efficiency were investigated. The results show that the peak load is controlled by fiber orientation and testing temperature. The mean force, specific energy absorption and crush efficiency are related to the three mentioned factors. Both fiber orientation and testing temperature have obviously influence on crushing modes of thermoplastic composite tubes. Length-to-diameter ratio also plays a role in crushing modes when the testing temperature is higher than the melting point of the resin.

High performance multiscale glass fibre epoxy composites integrated with cellulose nanocrystals for advanced structural applications

Recently, considerable effort has been devoted to develop cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)/epoxy (EP) composites with improved properties. However, work on CNC-enhanced continuous fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites has received little attention. In this study, a CNC/epoxy mixture was infused through plain-woven glass fabric (GF) reinforcement to develop hierarchical CNC/GFRP composites. The results show that CNC/GFRP composites exhibit significantly enhanced mechanical properties compared to the GFRP control composite. The addition of 2 wt% CNC to GFRP yielded increases of 56% in storage modulus, 50% in flexural modulus, 55% in flexural strength, 14% in tensile modulus and 24% in tensile strength. Morphological studies (SEM) confirm the strong anchoring of CNCs with GF and the EP interphase thin layer around the GF. These results show that CNCs can be effective for strengthening the interface in fibre-reinforced composites for structural applications.

Influence of silica fillers on failure modes of glass/vinyl ester composites under different mechanical loadings

Glass/vinyl ester composites are widely used to produce vessels and structures for applications in marine environment. Matrix cracking, delamination and fibre breakage are major modes of failure in these composites. This paper focusses to enhance the performance of glass/vinyl ester composites by the addition of silica microparticles. The particle loading helped to enhance the mechanical performance of matrix by reducing the chances of matrix cracking and delamination, due to better particle/matrix interfacial adhesion. Composite materials were fabricated without particles and with 2% and 5% particle loading (by weight of resin), using UD glass fabric reinforcement. The mechanical performance was investigated in terms of tensile strength, flexural strength, short beam shear, impact resistance and barcol hardness. The results show an increase in the properties of composites by the addition of silica microparticles. The investigations of the failure mode revealed that composites without any particles have exhibited matrix cracking, delamination and reinforcement failure in tensile and flexural mode. But the particle loaded composites exhibited only matrix cracking and reinforcement failure, indicating a substantial increase in the matrix strength and interfacial adhesion. Similarly, in case of drop weight impact, a high energy was absorbed by the particle loaded composite as compared to the one without particles. The barcol hardness of composite was also found to increase with particle loading.

유리섬유 직물로 보강된 폴리프로필렌 복합체의 기계적 물성에 대한 가공 변수의 영향

유리섬유 직물로 보강된 폴리프로필렌 복합체의 기계적 물성에 대한 가공 변수의 영향

Influence of the Woven Structure on the Initial Fracture Behavior of Roving Glass Fabric Reinforced Composites

In this paper, investigation on the initial fracture behavior was carried out on roving glass woven fabric reinforced composites which were manufactured by hand lay-up method. Two kinds of roving glass woven fabrics of different FAW (Fabric Area Weight) and crimp ratio, Type A of 570 g/m2 and Type B of 800 g/m2, were adopted as reinforcement in this study. Tensile test was conducted and tensile properties were discussed on specimens of 6 degrees 0°/5°/10°/80°/85°/90°. The initial fracture behavior was observed on 0 degree and 90 degree and the fracture mechanism was compared and discussed among 5°/10°/80°/85°. The results showed that Type B has higher tensile modulus and tensile strength than that of Type A. And different initial fracture behaviors between two kinds of materials was observed and analyzed, which indicated that the crimp ratio plays an important role of woven fabric reinforced composites in fracture mechanism.

An investigation into the effects of fabric reinforcements in the bonding surface on failure response and transverse impact behavior of adhesively bonded dissimilar joints

Abstract The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the failure response and transverse impact behavior of adhesively bonded dissimilar single-lap composite joints fabricated by using fiber-reinforced polymer. The adherend materials utilized for the experimental tests were AA6082-T6 and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) in the form of thin sheets. The adhesive used was a warm to hot curing epoxy system (Araldite LY 1564 SP/Aradur 3487 BD) manufactured by Huntsman. In this study, some modifications were provided to enhance the failure response of single-lap composite joints. These modifications comprise the addition of different type and number of fabric reinforcements in the bonding surface. Based upon the test results, an increase of 33.6% in the failure load at room temperature is obtained for the joint fabricated by the addition of double-layer glass fabric reinforcement in the bonding surface. However, the failure load of all types of joint modifications decreases with the increasing tensile test temperature from room temperature to 75 °C. Similarly, tensile tests of the same specimen also resulted in double failure displacement by comparison with the adhesively bonded joint through only epoxy without any fabric reinforcement. The effect of low velocity impact on the failure response of the joints at the impact energy level of 2.5 J is also evaluated. From the tensile tests subsequent to impact treatment, it was found that the transverse impact significantly reduced the failure load of all types of joint modifications. However, the adopted modifications provided tensile failure loads over 1875 N and 1270 N for the joint fabricated by using double-layer carbon and glass fabric reinforcements, respectively.

Experimental Tests of I Profile Made from UHPC Reinforced with Textile Glass Fibres

This abstract is summarizing production and subsequent experimental testing of 3D profile of the symmetrical I shape concrete from UHPC matrix and reinforced with textile glass fibres. Upper and bottom covering strips of this profile are at the outside fibres reinforced with textile glass reinforcement. Position of this reinforcement is fixed in the distance of about 3 mm from outside fibres and is connected with reinforcement of the profile stem located in its axis. Such prepared beams were tested with four-point flexure evenly loaded until fracture. Course of the measurement was continuously recorded by the automatic logger, where mostly increase of the force in relation to deflection in the middle of the span and change of position of supports were recorded. From the recorded data were prepared graphic outputs compared with the same experiments performed on I profile which is not reinforced, i.e. only UHPC matrix, and for comparison also on the profile made from UHPC matrix with use of metal wires. In the conclusion were compared achieved test results. Mainly suitability and loading capacity of individual beam types was compared. Within the experiment were performed supporting tests based on which were determined material characteristics of tested matrix and textile glass reinforcement. Tests were performed in the Klokner Institute within solution of the grant project GACŘ 13-12676S.

Waste glass aggregate for cementitious and polymer concrete

Glass waste is produced in considerable amounts annually. Due to the disadvantageous nature of its recycling process, its reuse gains importance. Given the high reactivity level of glass-incorporating mixtures, the reuse of waste glass as aggregate in polymer concrete was investigated. Polymer concrete mixtures, including unsaturated polyester resin, hardener and accelerator, waste glass aggregate (up to 8 mm) and glass fabrics, were prepared for the investigation of mechanical properties. The composite specimens were reinforced by means of glass fabrics in various types (woven or mat), amounts (single or double layer) and orientation (perpendicular or parallel to loading direction). The mechanical properties of polymer concretes were tested for flexural tensile strength and compressive strength. In addition, thermal conductivity and residual strength after elevated temperatures were determined. It was concluded that these composites with easy preparation techniques have superior mechanical and thermal insulation properties compared with their counterparts available for use and their mechanical properties were mainly affected by the amount, type and orientation of the glass fabric reinforcement.

Impact of Increased Temperature on Cohesiveness of Textile Glass Reinforcement with UHPC Matrix

The contribution is focused on research results of thin elements with UHPC matrix reinforced by textile glass reinforcement. A set of three test samples with size of 1100 x 120 x 20 mm were produced in laboratories of the Klokner Institute. Using accompanying tests the material characteristics of the concrete matrix and the textile glass reinforcement were determined. This reinforcement is modified by a protective epoxy surface layer, co called coating. The reason of the coating is to prevent a formation and a development of corrosive processes on the reinforcement texture. The samples were tested at four-point bend test in a thermal chamber. The thermal chamber is a space where it is possible to gradually regulate the temperature up to 75 °C under a constant value of a loading. In the course of the temperature increasing is using a measuring unit measured mainly bend in the middle of the span in time and the course of an inner and outer temperature. The impact of the increased temperature on the cohesiveness of the non-conventional reinforcement and the UHPC matrix is evaluated from the monitored data.