Impact Properties Of Hybrid Composites Research Articles

Carbon/Basalt Fibers Hybrid Composites: Hybrid Design and the Application in Automobile Engine Hood.

The low-velocity impact properties and the optimal hybrid ratio range for improving the property of hybrid composites are studied, and the application of hybrid composites in automobile engine hoods is discussed in this paper. The low-velocity impact properties of the hybrid composite material are simulated under different stacking sequences and hybrid ratios by finite element simulation, and the accuracy of the finite element model (FEM) is verified through experiments. Increasing the proportion of carbon fiber (CF) in the hybrid layer and placing the basalt fiber (BF) on the compression side can improve the energy absorption capacity under low-velocity impact loads. CF/BF hybrid composite hoods are optimized based on the steel hood and the low-velocity impact performance of the hybrid composite. The BCCC layer absorbs the most energy under low-velocity impact loads. Compared with CFRP, the energy absorbed under 10 J and 20 J impact energy is increased by 26.1% and 14.2%, respectively. Through the low-velocity impact properties of hybrid composites, we found that placing BF on the side of the load and keep the ratio below 50%, while increasing the proportion of CF in the hybrid laminate can significantly improve the property of the hybrid laminate. The results show that the stiffness and modal properties of the hybrid composite can meet the design index requirements, and the pedestrian protection capability of the hood will also increase with the increase in the proportion of BF.

Comparative Study of Epoxy Composites Reinforced with Kenaf Fiber and Different Types of Microparticles

Reinforcement of both fibrous and particulate materials can improve composite properties for various applications, such as biomedical applications. The alkali-treated kenaf fibers and (SiO2, bentonite, and CaCO3) microparticles 400 mesh in size reinforce the epoxy matrix for hybrid composites. The bending and impact properties of hybrid composites, as well as their water absorption, are compared. The hybrid composites were prepared in a compression mold using a hand lay-up technique at 100°C for 20 – 50 minutes consisting of 28 vol.% of short kenaf fibers ~5 mm in length, 2 vol.% of each type of microparticle, and 70 vol.% the epoxy resin. The flexural and impact properties of kenaf/silica/epoxy composite indicated the highest flexural strength (58.37±3.9 MPa), flexural modulus (4.68 ± 0.17 MPa), and impact strength (7.49 kJ/m2). The addition of the microparticles reduced water absorption in the composites. The water absorption of kenaf/silica/epoxy composite appeared to be stable for immersion time near 216 hours. Other microparticle-filled composites did not show this pattern. The incorporation of silica microparticles to the kenaf/epoxy composite potentially enhanced the mechanical properties of the composite, with the expectation of using it to be developed for biomedical composite material.

Enhanced Impact Properties of Hybrid Composites Reinforced by Carbon Fiber and Polyimide Fiber.

A series of hybrid fiber-reinforced composites were prepared with polyimide fiber and carbon fiber as the reinforcement and epoxy resin as the matrix. The influence of stacking sequence on the Charpy impact and flexural properties of the composites as well as the failure modes were studied. The results showed that hybrid fiber-reinforced composites yielded nearly 50% increment in Charpy impact strength compared with the ones reinforced by carbon fiber. The flexural performance was significantly improved compared with those reinforced solely by polyimide fibers and was greatly affected by the stacking sequence. The specimens with compressive sides distributed with carbon fiber possessed higher flexural strength, while those holding a sandwich-like structure with carbon fiber filling between the outer layers displayed a higher flexural modulus.

Tensile and Impact Properties of Hybrid Composites from Textile Waste

The rise of the textile industry in global fashion has caused a high level of post-consumer textile waste generation. Every year, million tons of textile waste has been sent to landfills that consequently leading to environmental pollution. This study aimed to use the textile waste for the development of hybrid composite laminate, together with the existing commercially available fibreglass. This research investigated the tensile properties and impact strength of textile waste hybrid composites. Three textile variants were used in this study, which is lycra, polyester and cotton, and they were either chopped or used as a full fabric. Hand lay-up and hot press technique were used to produce the sample materials, using epoxy resin as the binder. A total of 9 samples were prepared and their tensile and impact properties were assessed. Tensile test results showed that all hybrid composites have a better ultimate tensile strength and tensile modulus compared to their original raw fabrics, but not on the elongation property. It can be seen that the arrangement of fabrics has a distinctive effect on tensile and impact strength. All raw fabrics were greatly punctured during the failure, but all hybrid composites have barely visible impact damage on the front surface, and no penetration was observed. This study reveals that the reuse of textile waste and fibreglass for the development of hybrid composites has a huge potential to be used as substitutes in other composite materials. In the future, this will contribute to improving the sustainability of textile materials.

Effect of stacking sequence on the mechanical properties of pseudo-ductile thin-ply unidirectional carbon-basalt fibers/epoxy composites

In this study, the flexural and impact properties of hybrid composites including the thin-ply unidirectional (UD) carbon fibers and basalt fabrics with different stacking sequences were investigated. Hybrid composites were fabricated by 2 layers of thin-ply UD carbon fibers and 6 layers of basalt fabrics in which the position of thin-ply UD carbon fibers was changed from the center to the outermost layers for different samples. Results indicated that by embedding the thin-ply UD carbon fibers in the laminates, both flexural and impact properties of the samples were considerably improved. The highest flexural strength (451 MPa) and modulus (37 GPa) values were achieved when the thin-ply UD carbon fibers were placed at the outermost layers; these values were respectively 24% and 44% higher than those of the sample without these fibers. However, results indicated that by placing the thin-ply UD carbon fibers at the center of samples, the failure behavior of samples was changed from catastrophic failure to progressive; and a pseudo-ductile behavior was observed in the mentioned samples. The highest pseudo-ductile strain value of 0.0054 was obtained by placing the thin-ply UD carbon fibers at the center of samples. Similar to the trend pseudo-ductility of samples, the flexural strain of samples improved by nearing the thin-ply UD carbon fibers to the center of samples. Similar to the flexural strain of samples, the results of Charpy impact tests indicated that by nearing the thin-ply UD carbon fibers to the outermost layers, the absorbed energy values decreased.

Experimental assessment of adding carbon nanotubes on the impact properties of Kevlar-ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fibers hybrid composites

In the present study, the effect of adding various percentage (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.9 wt.%) of carbon nanotubes on the impact properties of hybrid composites reinforced with the different stacking sequence of Kevlar fibers and ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene was investigated. The obtained results showed that the composite with the configuration of sandwiched ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene layers by Kevlar layers had the higher impact properties as compared with other hybrid configurations. Adding 0.1 wt.% carbon nanotubes in this configuration was caused to increase the normalized absorbed energy more than 6.5 times. The fracture surface of this configuration showed that the branching and expanding the damage area were the dominant mechanisms for the energy absorption of impactor. Also, the field emission scanning electron microscope illustrated that the carbon nanotubes by bridging, pulling out, and fracturing mechanisms increased the capability of energy absorption in the hybrid composites.

Physical and mechanical properties of sugar palm/glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane hybrid composites

This paper studied the physical and mechanical properties of sugar palm and glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane hybrid composites with the aim of investigation on the hybrid effects of the composites made of natural and synthetic fibers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the physical properties such as density, thickness swelling, water absorption whereas the tensile, flexural and impact properties of sugar palm, hybrid and glass composites were also investigated. Morphological properties of tensile fracture samples of composites were done by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composites were fabricated at a constant weight fraction of total fiber loading at 40wt.% using melt compounding method. The result revealed that incorporation of glass fiber 30wt.% to sugar palm/TPU composites exhibited the higher density, lower thickness swelling and water absorption properties. The tensile and impact properties of the hybrid composites were improved with the increasing of sugar palm fiber content (30/10 SP/G) as compared to glass fiber reinforced composites (0/40 SP/G) due to the excellent hybrid performance of the two fibers. The flexural properties were increased when the higher amount of glass fiber was introduced at 40wt.% (0/40 SP/G). The fibers cracks, fiber pull out and fiber dislocation of the fractured surfaces are evaluated by using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Overall results indicated that the incorporation of glass fiber to sugar palm fiber composites can improve the physical and mechanical properties and developed hybrid composites can be used as an alternate material for glass fiber reinforced polymer composites for different applications.

Mechanical and Morphological Properties of Epoxy Based Hybrid Composites Reinforced with Banana-Pineapple Fiber

The aim of this paper is to investigate the mechanical properties of Banana-Pineapple natural fiber reinforced epoxy hybrid composites. The hybrid combination of fibers with various weight fractions i.e. (40/0, 30/10, 20/20, 10/30 and 0/40) are incorporated into the epoxy LY556 and HY951and hand layup technique is used for fabrication. Initially fibers are cut to a length of 5mm and weight percentagesare determined. Banana fiber was hybridized with Pineapple fiber. While overall fiber weight fraction was fixed as 0.4Wf. Tensile, Flexural and Impact specimens are prepared according to ASTM standards. The Dog-bone shaped specimens are prepared for tensile test. Tensile testing was conducted on 5 ton universal testing machine (FIE Make). Flat bar and V-notch shaped specimens are prepared for conducting Flexural, Impact tests.The results are compared with pure Banana and pure Pineapple. Tensile, Flexural and Impact properties of Hybrid Composites are improved as compared to pure composites. The interfacial relationships between the fiber and matrix, internal cracks, fiber pullout, fiber dispersion into the matrix and the inner surfaces of the specimens are examined through SEM analysis.

Impact behaviour of hybrid composites for structural applications: A review

Abstract Recently published research indicates that natural fibre based polymer composites have limited applications in advanced structural systems due to their low impact performance. However, natural fibres have great potential for reducing the product weight, lowering material cost, and renewability. Hybrid composites made from a combination of natural/synthetic fibres, natural/natural fibres, or synthetic/synthetic fibres are also receiving attention from both researchers and the industry for structural applications owing to the tailored mechanical and impact properties of these materials. The hybridisation process is one of the paramount and more efficient ways to strengthen and improve the performance of composite materials. This review paper examines the impact properties of hybrid composites manufactured with the aim of improving their structural characteristics, and in particular, is focused on the impact resistance and penetration behaviour of hybrid composites reinforced with natural and synthetic fibres as well as their suitability for modern structural applications.

Enhanced mechanical properties of multifunctional multiscale glass/carbon/epoxy composite reinforced with carbon nanotubes and simultaneous carbon nanotubes/nanoclays

Hybrid composites are being used in a wide variety of applications especially in the aircraft industry. Therefore, it would be of great use to develop a hybrid composite with a high mechanical performance. With this premise, this studyaimed to imbed secondary nanoscale reinforcement into the matrix of glass/carbon/epoxy composite where amino multi-walled carbon nanotubes and hybridization of amino multi-walled carbon nanotube and Nanoclay (Cloisite 30B) were utilized. The tensile, flexural and impact properties of hybrid composites were evaluated and a comparative study between hybrid composite reinforced with amino-MWCNTs and simultaneous amino-MWCNTs and Nanoclay was conducted. The fractured surfaces of tensile testing and bending testing specimens were characterized with a high precise field emission scanning electron microscopy. The results of the tensile test revealed that incorporation of amino-MWCNTs reduced the ultimate strength of hybrid composite, while the elastic modulus of composite with combination of amino-MWCNTs and Nanoclay increased. It was demonstrated that incorporation of nanotubes and simultaneous presence of both amino MWCNTs and Nanoclay could enhance exclusively the flexural strength of conventional hybrid composite by up to 10.5% and 22% respectively. Also, simultaneous presence of nano-fillers resulted in 12.2% enhancement of impact strength of hybrid composite where amino-MWCNTs exclusively increased it by up to 49.9%. Morphological characterization of composites indicated to strengthen interfacial interaction of fabrics to epoxy when matrix reinforced with nano-fillers, especially in combination of both nanotubes and nanoclays.

Polypropylene hybrid composites with wood flour and needle-like minerals

Polypropylene (PP) hybrid composites filled with wood flour and needle-like minerals, including SiO2 whiskers, CaCO3 whiskers and milled glass fibres, were prepared by melt blending and injection moulding. Maleic anhydride grafted PP was used as a compatibiliser. The effect of the needle-like minerals’ type and content on the crystallisation and melting behaviour, morphology, mechanical properties, moisture resistance and thermal stability of the hybrid composites were studied. The results showed that SiO2 and CaCO3 whiskers exhibited strong heterogeneous nucleation and promotion effect on PP crystallisation. Milled glass fibre was superior to enhance the tensile, flexural and impact properties of hybrid composites. Maleic anhydride grafted PP was selective for the interfacial modification of hybrid fillers and the best modification effect achieved in the composites hybridised with milled glass fibre. Comparatively speaking, the optimal proportions between the three kinds of needle-like minerals and the wood flour for the hybrid modification of PP all lie in 1·5∶48·5.

Mechanical properties and water sorption behavior of phenol–formaldehyde hybrid composites reinforced with banana fiber and glass fiber

AbstractBanana fiber, which is rich in cellulose, relatively inexpensive, and abundantly available, has potential for polymer reinforcement. This study explores the merits of combining high‐modulus glass fibers with banana fiber in phenolic resoles to develop high‐performance, cost‐effective, lightweight hybrid composites. Of particular interest is the effect of varying layering patterns of banana fiber and glass fiber on the tensile, flexural, and impact properties of hybrid composites. The highest tensile strength value has been obtained for an intimate mixture of both fibers, and the maximum flexural and impact strength has been obtained for composite samples prepared from interleaving layers of banana fiber and glass fiber. Tensile, flexural, and impact properties of the composites increase with an increasing volume fraction of glass fiber. The water uptake of these composites decreases with the incorporation of glass fiber into banana fiber, and the composites with glass fiber at the periphery and banana fiber at the core have the maximum resistance to water absorption. Scanning electron micrographs show the fracture mechanism and fiber/matrix adhesion in these composites © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008

Impact behavior of aramid fiber/glass fiber hybrid composites: The effect of stacking sequence

Aramid fiber/glass fiber hybrid composites were prepared to examine the effect of stacking sequence on the impact behavior of thin laminates. The effect of position of the aramid layer on the impact properties of hybrid composites was investigated using driven dart impact tester. The delamination area and fracture surface of hybrid composites were analyzed for correlation with impact energy. The addition of glass layer to aramid layer reduced the impact resistance of hybrid composite due to the restriction in the deformation of aramid layer. The position of aramid layer resulted in variations in the impact behavior of hybrid composites. When the aramid layer was at the impacted surface, the composite exhibited a higher impact energy. This was attributed to the fact that the flexible layer at the impacted surface in thin laminates can experience larger deformation. In three-layer composites, the aramid fiber-reinforced composite (AAA) exhibited the highest total impact energy due to high impact energy per delamination area (1EDA) in spite of low delamination area. Aramid fiber and glass fiber-reinforced composites showed a different impact behavior according to the change of thickness. This was attributed to the difference in the energy absorption at interface between laminae.

Impact behavior of aramid fiber/glass fiber hybrid composite: Evaluation of four-layer hybrid composites

Aramid fiber/glass fiber hybrid composites were fabricated to investigate the impact behavior of four-layer composites through the analysis of delamination area. The effect of position and content of aramid layer on the impact properties of hybrid composites was examined by using driven dart impact tester. The surface-treated composites were prepared by treating the surface of aramid fiber with oxygen plasma and silane coupling agent. The trend of total impact energy was correlated to that of delamination area in both untreated and treated composites. The impact energy and delamination area of hybrid composites depended on the position of aramid layer. When aramid layer was at back surface, the composite exhibited the higher impact energy and delamination area. In surface-treated composites, however, the position of aramid layer had a minor effect on the impact energy of hybrid composites. This was due to the restriction in deformation of aramid fiber. The impact behavior of four-layer hybrid composites was affected by the delamination area at each interface. The deformation at neighbored-aramid layers increased the deformation at adjacent interfaces.

The impact properties of hybrid composites reinforced with high-modulus polyethylene fibres and glass fibres

This paper explores the merits of combining high-modulus polyethylene (HMPE) fibres and glass fibres to form hybrid composites. Of particular interest was the effect of the various proportions of each fibre on the impact properties of the hybrid composites. Plasma treatment was used to investigate the effect of fibre/matrix adhesion on the hybridisation. The major conclusion of the work is that the 100% untreated HMPE composite shows the maximum energy absorption. However, when other properties, such as flexural strength, are taken into consideration the plasma-treated HMPE fibre composite with a few layers of glass at the centre offers the best compromise of properties.