Reinforced Polymer Hybrid Research Articles

Layer-wise damage prediction in carbon/Kevlar/S-glass/E-glass fibre reinforced epoxy hybrid composites under low-velocity impact loading using advanced 3D computed tomography

Examination of stacking sequence effect is essential in optimising the properties of synthetic fibre reinforced hybrid polymer composites for protecting the aircraft structure from the barely visible impact damage during low-velocity impact (LVI) events. It is important to know the quasi-static mechanical properties of polymer composites before analysing the LVI damage. Therefore, in this study, both quasi-static mechanical (tensile, flexural and punch-shear) and LVI properties of epoxy reinforced woven roving, E-glass and three different interply hybrid fabric (S-glass-E-glass, Carbon-E-glass and Kevlar-E-glass) composites are investigated. In all these hybrid composites, E-glass fabric layers are placed in the interior. Analysis of LVI properties indicated a 7.5% increase in the maximum energy absorption for laminates having Kevlar fibre as surface layers as against 3.4% decrease in energy absorption and 13.5% for laminates with carbon fibre and S-glass fibre as surface layers, respectively, compared to the E-glass/epoxy composite. An X-ray computed tomography is used for observing the layer-wise damage mechanisms of the LVI tested specimens from damage initiation to final perforation, which predicts that the bottommost layers of the plate are subjected to more damage. The damage area for each layer of the composite plates are measured using Image J software. Carbon-E-glass/epoxy composites are found to have more damage area than the other laminates. The delamination and damage zone of the plates are detected using the ultrasonic C-scan. The scanning electron microscopy is used to examine the fractured surfaces of tensile, flexural and punch-shear tested specimens.

Studies on Mechanical Properties of Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly Ethylene (UHMWPE)-Basalt Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Polymer Matrix Composites

Composite materials have become a preferred material now days because of their strength and also they are light. An additional material can be produced by a combination of matrix and reinforcement. The connections also give the flexibility of the design, because many of them can be formed in complex shapes. The economic significance of composite materials is now illustrious. There is strong indication far and wide that this importance will be increasing in the future. Composite materials now occupy an established position in the aerospace industry. They are also used for many components in the automotive industry; marine industry and civil infrastructures now have their reinforcements made of composite materials. There is a large range of manufacturing processes for the production of low-cost composites. Composite materials have been utilized to solve technological problems for a long time but only in the 1960s these material started capturing the attention of industries with the introduction of polymeric-based composites. Since then, composite materials have become common engineering materials and are designed and manufactured for various applications including automotive components, sporting goods, aerospace parts, consumer goods and in the marine and oil industries. The growth in composite usage also came about because of increased awareness regarding product performance and increased competition in the global market for lightweight components.

An Experimental Study on the Mechanical Properties of Basalt and Banana Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Polymer Composites

Natural fiber composites are nowadays being used in various engineering applications for the fabrication of lightweight, low cost polymer composites. This is mainly attributed to the use of eco-friendly materials which are easy to use and dispose and has no negative impacts on the environment. The objective of this research work is to experimentally determine the mechanical and thermal properties of Basalt-Banana composite laminates and to find out the degree of improvement due to the addition of Basalt layers on the tensile strength, flexural strength and other properties of Banana fiber composite. Laminates were prepared by hand layup followed by Vacuum-bagging. Each laminate consisting of 5 layers in the intercalated sequence Basalt /Banana/ Basalt/ Banana/ Basalt. The results were finally compared with the existing work on Glass - Banana Fiber composites

Synthesis and Characterization of Jute- and Chicken-Feather-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Hybrid Composites

The properties of jute- and chicken-feather-fiber (CFF)-reinforced polymer hybrid composites have been investigated experimentally. The scanning electron microscopy was used to analyze their failure under various loading conditions and the morphology of fracture surface. The composite specimens were finally characterized using the multiple criteria decision making technique TOPSIS.

Tribo-Mechanical Responses of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Hybrid Nanocomposites

Abstract In the trending materials technology, nano composites are gaining importance due to enhanced mechanical, thermal and optical properties. Among various nanofillers used in fiber reinforced polymer nanocomposites, nanoclays have received several attractions among academia and researchers due to its high aspect ratio and characteristic exfoliation/intercalation properties. The stiffness of glass fibre reinforced polymer composites is not very high in comparison to carbon fibres. In the present work, an attempt has been made to enhance the stiffness and tribological properties of glass fibres by mixing nanoclays in the epoxy matrix. Hand lay up method was adopted to make ten layered glass fibre reinforced polymer hybrid composite. The weight percentage of nanoclay was 1%, 3%, 5%, and 7% to understand the behaviour of the hybrid composites. It was observed that 5% loading of nanoclay shows the optimum amount at which all the properties like hardness, impact strength, flexural strength and specific wear rate was increased. However, with further increase in nanoclays, all the above said properties were deteriorated. At 5% nanoclay content, hardness increased by 33.8%, impact strength by 74.8%, flexural strength and modulus by 37.5% and 37.67% respectively. Hence the above hybrid composite may be considered as a better composite for various structural and industrial applicationse.

Flexural and Specific Wear Rate of Seawater Aged Bamboo, Jute and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Hybrid Composites

Abstract Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites have been used in different industries because of its high specific strength, modulus, cheaper and biodegradability. However, natural fiber reinforced polymer composites have lower mechanical properties and degrades its mechanical properties through seawater aging or moisture absorption than the composites having synthetic fiber. Therefore, the hybridization of natural fiber with synthetic fiber is needed to improve its mechanical properties in seawater aged condition. In this present investigation jute, bamboo and glass fiber is taken as the reinforcement medium for the preparation of the polymer hybrid composites. Three variety of hybrid composites such as [GJB]s,[GBJ]s,[JBG]s were considered for this investigation. The specimens were aged in seawater for 30days. It is found that [GBJ]s hybrid composite absorb more amount of seawater than the other two hybrid composites followed by degradation of its flexural strength by 42% and modulus by 33%. The [GBJ]s type hybrid composites shows lowest specific wear rate than the other two hybrid composites in dry condition and for seawater aged condition [JBG]s type hybrid composites shows minimum specific wear rate as compared to other hybrid composites

Assessment of Abrasive Jet Machining of Carbon and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Hybrid Composites

Abstract The difficulties of machining of fiber reinforced polymer composites by traditional methods have limited the widespread application of composite materials. In this article, the mechanical properties such as flexural strength was evaluated and abrasive jet machining was performed for plain glass (G), carbon(C) and hybrid composite ([CG2CG]S) in dry and seawater aged condition. The material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (Ra) and depth of cut (DOC) were determined. The improvement of flexural properties of hybrid composites in comparison to plain glass fiber reinforced composite was observed. The MRR and DOC were seen to be increased with rise in operating pressure. The MRR and DOC were higher for seawater aged composite than in dry condition.

Dynamic moduli and creep damping analysis of short carbon fiber reinforced polymer hybrid nanocomposite containing silica nanoparticle-on the nanoparticle size and volume fraction dependent aggregation

A hierarchical micromechanical procedure in conjunction with the elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle is presented to estimate the dynamic moduli and creep damping capacity of short carbon fiber (CF) reinforced polymer hybrid nanocomposite (HNC) containing silica nanoparticle (SNP). At First, an analytical expression is derived to extract the damping properties in the frequency domain associated with a power law creep-time model. Then, a third phase known as interphase whose properties vary gradually, is taken into account to model the SNP/polymer interactions. The polymer matrix and the interphase obey a viscoelastic constitutive law. The CF random orientation is involved in the analysis as well. The effects of various parameters, including the SNP content, aggregation state and size; the CF content; the interphase properties; and the loading frequency (LF) on the HNC elastic modulus, creep compliance, storage modulus, loss modulus, and hysteresis loop are examined. As a novel idea, the SNP aggregation state is considered to be dependent on the SNP volume fraction (SNPVF). The SNP size effect is speculated by a newly presented intuition-based idea validated by the molecular dynamics simulation. Acceptable agreements in comparison with experiments prove the accuracy of the proposed model in the case that the intensity of the SNP aggregation is dependent on the SNPVF. It is found that a threshold for the SNPVF value can be reported to improve the HNC effective properties that beyond it, they tend to degenerate. It is also revealed that the SNP aggregation effect on the loss modulus diminishes as the LF increases in the manner that no change occurs in the LFs beyond 1e7 Hz. Additionally, the HNC overall properties are greatly affected by the NP diameters less than 20 nm.

Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Glass Fiber and Coconut Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Polymer Matrix Composite with Bentonite Powder as Particulate Filler

Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Glass Fiber and Coconut Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Polymer Matrix Composite with Bentonite Powder as Particulate Filler

Effect of fibre sequence on the mechanical properties of woven fan palm/glass fabric reinforced polymer hybrid composites

The aim of this research is to investigate the influence of fibre sequence on the mechanical properties of woven fan palm/glass fabric reinforced polymer hybrid composites. Research specimens were varied in fibre sequence between woven fan palm and glass fabric. Vacuum bagging method was used to manufacture the specimens (at pressure of -70 cmHg). The results of tensile, bending, and impact tests show that the addition of glass fabric can increase the mechanical properties of the hybrid composite. Based on the fibre sequence, the glass fabrics on surface of the hybrid composite have the best mechanical properties.

Thermomechanical investigation of unidirectional carbon fiber-polymer hybrid composites containing CNTs

In this research, the thermoelastic response of unidirectional carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced polymer hybrid composites containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are analyzed using a physics-based hierarchical micromechanical modeling approach. The developed model consists of a unit cell-based scheme along with the Eshelby method which can consider random orientation, random distribution, directional behavior, non-straight shape of CNTs and interphase region generated due to the non-bonded van der Waals interaction between a CNT and the polymer matrix. The predictions are compared with the experimental data available in the literature and a quite good agreement is pointed out for the fibrous polymer composite, CNT-polymer nanocomposite and fiber/CNT-polymer hybrid composite systems. The influences of several factors, including volume fraction, aspect ratio, off-axis angle and arrangement type of CFs as well as CNT volume fraction on the thermoelastic behavior of CF/CNT-polymer hybrid composites are examined in detail. The results indicate that the transverse CTE of a unidirectional CF-reinforced composite is significantly improved due to the addition of CNTs, while the hybrid composite CTE in the longitudinal direction is negligibly affected by the CNTs. Also, it is found that the role of CNT in the hybrid composite thermoelastic behavior becomes more prominent as the CF aspect ratio decreases.

Wear behaviour of ceramic particle reinforced hybrid polymer matrix composites

ABSTRACT The study plans to create carbon–epoxy composites with the expansion of various fillers with different weight levels and to describe their mechanical and tribological properties. The fillers, silicon carbide and aluminium oxide are created using vacuum bag moulding and utilised as auxiliary supports. The wear practices were assessed utilising pin-on-disc mechanical assembly with various burdens. The outcome shows that the wear protection is enhanced with an increment in the weight level of optional support content. It was discovered that carbon–epoxy composite with 10% silicon carbide and 5% aluminium oxide shows better wear protection which can be utilised for bearing application.

Facile Preparation and Characterization of Short-Fiber and Talc Reinforced Poly(Lactic Acid) Hybrid Composite with In Situ Reactive Compatibilizers.

Hybrid composites of fillers and/or fibers reinforced polymer was generally produced by masterbatch dilution technique. In this work, the simplified preparation was introduced for the large volume production of 30 wt % short-fiber and talcum reinforced polymer hybrid composite by direct feeding into twin-screw extruder. Multifunctional epoxide-based terpolymer and/or maleic anhydride were selected as in situ reactive compatibilizers. The influence of fiber and talcum ratios and in situ reactive compatibilizers on mechanical, dynamic mechanical, morphological and thermal properties of hybrid composites were investigated. The morphological results showed the strong interfacial adhesion between fiber or talcum and Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix due to a better compatibility by reaction of in situ compatibilizer. The reactive PLA hybrid composite showed the higher tensile strength and the elongation at break than non-compatibilized hybrid composite without sacrificing the tensile modulus. Upon increasing the talcum contents, the modulus and storage modulus of hybrid composites were also increased while the tensile strength and elongation at break were slightly decreased compared to PLA/fiber composite. Talcum was able to induce the crystallization of PLA hybrid composites.

Micromechanical analysis of carbon nanotube-coated fiber-reinforced hybrid composites

A multiscale micromechanical modeling approach is developed to predict elastic properties of carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced polymer hybrid composites. In this type of hybrid composite, the unidirectional fibers are coated with randomly oriented carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Two fundamental aspects affecting the mechanical behavior of the hybrid composites are investigated herein; namely, CNT non-straight shape and the existence of an interphase region between a CNT and the polymer matrix. An excellent agreement is observed between the predictions of the new micromechanical method and available experimental data. The results reveal that for an accurate prediction of the elastic properties of the CNT-coated CF-reinforced hybrid composite, the consideration of waviness and transversely isotropic behavior of CNT, CNT/polymer interphase region and random arrangement of CFs is essential. It is found that the contribution of CNTs to the elastic response of the hybrid composite in longitudinal direction can be neglected. However, transverse elastic modulus of the CNT-coated CF-reinforced hybrid composite is significantly improved over that of the conventional CF-reinforced composite without CNT coating. Also, the maximum value of transverse elastic modulus can be obtained when the uniformly aligned straight CNTs are radially grown on the surface of the horizontal CFs.

Evaluation of Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Glass/Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Hybrid Composite

Polymer matrix composites used in different industrial applications due to their enhanced mechanical properties and lightweight. However, these materials are subjected to friction and wear situations in some industrial and automobile applications. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the wear properties of polymer matrix composite materials. This article emphasizes the dry abrasive wear behavior of a hybrid glass/carbon ([GCGGC]S) composite. The mechanical and wear properties of the composite was evaluated and compared with maiden glass and carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite. Design of experiment of Box-Behnken type was adopted to perform the experiments. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the experimental parameters to minimize the specific wear rate of the composites. A second order mathematical model was developed. The model has predicted the optimum input parameters for minimum specific wear rate of 18.847×10-3 mm3/Nm for the hybrid ([GCGGC]S) composite. Furthermore, the model predicted specific wear rate value was validated with experimental one and found a close agreement between them.

Effects of hybridization and fiber orientation on flexural properties of hybrid short glass fiber– and short carbon fiber–reinforced vinyl ester composites

Short fiber–reinforced hybrid polymer (SFRHP) composites were prepared using short glass fibers (SGFs) and short carbon fibers (SCFs) as the reinforcements and vinyl ester resin as the matrix. The flexural properties of all-SGF, all-SCF, and SGF-SCF hybrid composites with controlled fiber orientation were found out experimentally and also predicted using rule of hybrid mixtures. Hand layup technique was used for the preparation of the composites. Composites with different patterns of fiber alignment were prepared and their properties were compared with randomly oriented short fiber composites. The results showed that the flexural performance of samples with longitudinal orientation of the fibers was significantly better than randomly oriented samples for all composites. Synergistic effect of hybridization (positive hybridization) with respect to flexural properties of SFRHP composites was obtained by controlling the orientation of the fibers. It was shown that the hybridization of fibers in the short fiber composites can provide economic savings.

Multi-stage micromechanical modeling of effective elastic properties of carbon fiber/carbon nanotube-reinforced polymer hybrid composites

ABSTRACTA multi-stage hierarchical micromechanical approach is presented to predict the elastic properties of unidirectional carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced polymer hybrid composites containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The influences of CF volume fraction and orientation, type of CFs arrangement, CNT volume fraction and geometrical features, and CNT/polymer interphase region on the mechanical characteristics of CF/CNT-reinforced polymer hybrid composites are explored. An excellent agreement is found between the predictions of the presented micromechanical method and available experiment. It is shown that adding the CNTs into the fibrous polymer composites raises the transverse elastic modulus, while the longitudinal elastic properties are not influenced by the CNTs.

Investigations on Machining of Banana Fibre Reinforced Hybrid Polymer Matrix Composite Materials

In this investigation, machining of composites, fabricated with randomly oriented chopped banana fiber of length 10 mm as reinforcement and hybrid polymer as matrix, is studied. Two hybrid polymers are used. One is made from 85% of isophthalic polyester and 15% of cashew nut shell liquid and the other is made from 85% of isophthalic polyester and 15% of cardanol. Conventional machining is carried out by taking three parameters (speed, feed and depth of cut) into consideration. Response surface methodology is used for design of experiments. Material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness are investigated.

Studies on Tensile Strength of Sugarcane Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Polymer Matrix Composite

Fabrication of eco-friendly composites has been increased in recent times due to recyclability and biodegradability factors. An attempt is made in this paper to fabricate sugarcane fiber reinforced hybrid polymer matrix composite. Hybrid polymer, used in this work, is a blend of synthetic and natural resin. Tensile strength of fabricated composites is investigated. Taguchi L9 orthogonal array is used in the design of experiments procedure. The influence of different parameters on tensile strength is studied. The regression equations are obtained which illustrates the influence of each parameter on the tensile strength of the composite.

Priortizing best hybrid plantfibre and wastematerial epoxy composite by Grey method

Due to the increasing concern about the environment, a lot of research is going on in the field of developing new materials. Natural fibers are being used to create composites as they have less density, easily available and have less weight to strength ratio. In present work an attempt has been made to develop natural fibers reinforced hybrid polymer matrix composite. Composites with 20 weight % have been fabricated using Hand layup technique. The fibers used for the fabrication of composites were coir, bird feather, banana fiber. Egg shell was also used as particulate reinforcement along with the fibers. Mechanical properties (tensile, compression and flexural) of these composites have been analyzed. All those specimen were put for water absorption for a duration of 10 days and the same mechanical tests were performed on them. Finally, grey relational analysis was applied to rank the mechanical behaviour of the fabricated composites.