Fabric-reinforced Composites Research Articles

Utilization of Cigarette Putt Waste as Reinforcement in Normal Fiber Composite Materials to Increase Tensile Strength

This study aims to examine the mechanical properties of fiberglass composites made from normal fiberglass and a mixture of cigarette waste. The research was conducted using three treatments, namely normal fiberglass, mixed fiberglass 1, and mixed fiberglass 2. The method used was experimental with one replication. The results showed that fiberglass mixed with cigarette waste has a lower maximum force value compared to normal fiberglass. Therefore, mixed fiber specimens with cigarette filter fiber mixed materials can be used as an alternative material to replace normal fibers.

Investigating the Influence of Hydroperoxide Treatment on the Bagasse Fiber Reinforced Composite Properties

This study has investigated the effect of hydroperoxide treatment on the properties of bagasse fibers in order to get the value added material using by-products from sugar production such as reinforcement for composite materials. The results of processing bagasse fibers with hydroperoxide at different concentration, temperature and treatement time showed that treatment condition had a great influence on the properties of the obtained fibers. With the suitable treatement conditions of 10% peroxide concentration, treatment time of 40 minutes, treatment temperature at 60 0C, the treated fiber has a more homogeneous surface than the untreated. The composite using hybrid bagasse/glass fiber has higher flexural and impact resistance than when using glass fiber and reaches 162.6 MPa and 38.9 KJ/m2 (16.7% and 213% respectively compared to composite using glass fiber only). This can be explained that the treated bagasse fiber has better wetting ability with the matrix resin and together with the energy absorption capacity of the fiber bundle, it leads to an increase in flexural strength and impact strength of composite material.

Optimization of eucalyptus cellulose fiber using response surface methodology: Effects of sulfur content and refining time on the mechanical characteristics of paper pulp

The purpose of this study was to examine the delignification of Eucalyptus camaldulensis fibers by the kraft chemical process using sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide as fillers. To optimize the levels of factors influencing pulp yield and pulp content, a response surface approach with a central composite plane was used. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis were used to characterize the structure and thermal properties of cellulose fiber. Then, a dynamometer, a dechirometer, and an eclatometer adamel were used to evaluate the physico-mechanical properties (breaking length, tear resistance, and resistance to burst) of the paste. The results show that FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the structure of the cellulose fiber; the crystallinity index is 76.35%, the maximum degradation temperature is 368 °C and the kinetic energy of activation (75.45 kJ.mol-1) according to thermogravimetric studies. Subsequently, for the predicted optimal pulping conditions, the concentration of NaOH was 18.8% and 13.40% Na2S at 105 °C for 45 min. Finally, the results obtained for the evaluation of the papermaking properties of fibers during refining showed that the breaking length is 34% (2975 m–1958 m) with a sulfide concentration of 0%–30%, respectively, and that when the refining intensity is increased to 45°SR, the rupture length (5997-4088 m) decreases by approximately 31% under the same conditions. Then, the tear strength is 37.5% (53-33.1), the sulfide concentration is 0%–30%, and the refining intensity is 20°SR; the increase in the latter leads to a reduction in the tear index of approximately 19% (50-40.6) under the same conditions. Finally, the bursting index is 38.5% (18.4-11.3) at identical sulphide concentration and refining intensity, but the increase in the latter leads to a slight decrease in the burst index (37.7-23.6) which is about 37.40%. The results suggest that the valorization of Eucalyptus fibers for the production of well-delignified, high-yield, and resistant pulp is a promising approach. This research qualifies eucalyptus fiber as a potential reinforcement in composite materials.

Free Vibration Analysis of Functionally Graded Graphene-Reinforced Composite-Laminated Plates

Graphene is recognized as one of the most alluring reinforcements for composite materials due to its exceptional mechanical capabilities. However, the existing models disregarding the compatible requirements of interlaminar stresses in the literature may meet severe challenges for the dynamic analysis of functionally graded graphene-reinforced composite (FG-GRC) laminated thick plates. If transverse shear deformations cannot be described accurately, the prediction of natural frequencies for FG-GRC laminated plates will be seriously and directly affected. Accordingly, an attractive plate theory in conjunction with the analytical approach and finite-element formulation is proposed for free vibration analysis of FG-GRC plates. An improved transverse shear stress field is acquired in terms of the three-dimensional (3D) elasticity equations and the Reissner mixed variational theorem (RMVT). The performance of the suggested model was evaluated using 3D elasticity solutions and the results obtained from other models. Numerical results showed that the suggested model can produce promising results for the thick laminated and sandwich plates. Additionally, a thorough investigation was conducted to study the effects of several graphene parameters, including volume fractions, distribution patterns, span-to-thickness ratios, aspect ratios, boundary conditions, and stacking sequences, on the dynamic responses of FG-GRC laminated plates.

Mechanical and microstructural behavior of industrial spent catalyst waste and boron carbide reinforced aluminum matrix composites

The concept of reuse and recycling has undergone sustained development in industries to prevent the exhaustion of naturally available resources. The current study is about reusing spent catalyst waste from petroleum refining industries as reinforcement in aluminum composite materials. This work utilized the stir casting method to create nano B4C/waste spent catalyst/Al matrix composites by varying the B4C from 0.5 to 2.0 wt% and maintaining the constant 10 wt% of spent catalyst waste, respectively. Furthermore, the impact of nano B4C and spent catalyst waste on the mechanical and microstructure behavior of aluminum matrix hybrid composites were studied. The compressive strength, hardness, and tensile strength of the aluminum composites obtained with different percentages of nano B4C and spent catalyst waste were enhanced significantly. The increase in tensile strength mainly due to the effect of the Orowan strengthening mechanism and thermal stresses caused by the difference in the CTE of aluminum matrix and reinforcement. The effective mechanical behavior was obtained with 1.5 wt% B4C and 10 wt% spent catalyst waste with massive improvements in hardness (65.62%), compressive (31.81%), and tensile strength (48.23%), respectively, compared to base pure aluminum.

Meso-Scale Finite Element Model for Rib-Stiffened Composites with Biaxial Weft-Knitted Reinforcements

Shell-rib structures made of textile-reinforced composites are used in a wide range of applications to increase bending, buckling and torsional stiffness. Such composites are usually manufactured in differential construction at the preform level by assembling several textile structures or at the component level by the subsequent joining of separately manufactured shells and stiffening structures. Integral preform production is one way to overcome the disadvantages of the forenamed methods, such as high manual effort, failure during assembling or fiber distortion. Weft-knitting technology is excellent for achieving integral preforms for shell-rib components with a strong connection between the shell and the rib, especially while producing biaxial weft-knitted fabrics (BWKF) with reinforcing yarns in the warp and weft direction to improve its mechanical behavior. In this work, the possibilities of the knitting technique are investigated, and a finite element model for comparing different variants is developed and validated. A meso-scale Finite-Element-Method (FEM) model of the BWKF is used. The simulation results with the meso-scale model show a good correlation with experimental data by a description of bending strength and stiffness of different FRP configuration variations. The model can be used in further investigation of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) made from BWKF.

Simulation of Wood Polymer Composites with Finite Element Analysis.

Wood is a cellulosic material that is most abundantly available in nature. Wood has been extensively used as reinforcement in polymer composite materials. Wood polymer composite (WPC) is an environmentally friendly and sustainable material exploited in building and construction within the marine, packaging, housewares, aerospace, and automotive industries. However, the precision of testing equipment for finding the properties of WPCs becomes less feasible compared to experimental analysis due to a high degree of differences in the measurement of properties such as stress, strain and deformation. Thus, evaluating the mechanical properties of WPCs using finite element analysis (FEA) can aid in overcoming the inadequacies in measuring physical properties prior to experimental analyses. Furthermore, the prediction of mechanical properties using simulation tools has evolved to analyze novel material performance under various conditions. The current study aimed to examine the mechanical properties of saw dust-reinforced recycled polypropylene (rPP) through experimentation and FEA. A model was developed using SolidWorks, and simulation was performed in ANSYS to predict the mechanical properties of the WPCs. To validate the obtained results, the simulated static tension test results were confirmed with experimental tension tests, and both assessments were well in accordance with each other. Using FEA to predict material properties could be a cost-effective technique in studying new materials under varied load conditions.

Extraction and Characterization of a New Natural Cellulosic Fiber from Bark of Ficus Carica Plant as Potential Reinforcement for Polymer Composites

ABSTRACT High specific strength and modulus of fiber-reinforced polymer composites tend to be the reason for replacing many metallic structures. Synthetic fiber (E-glass) becomes a risk for health and leads to cancer. Ficus Carica (FC) bark fiber undergoes comprehensive characterization analysis such as Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Physical analysis and Chemical analysis. Bark of Ficus Carica plant is taken and the fibers are extracted. It is essential to study microstructure, chemical composition and mechanical properties of the fiber to utilize these lignocellulosic fibers as a reinforcement material in polymer composites. The results of this investigation are very encouraging for its applications to be used in industries for manufacturing fiber composites. FC Bark Fiber (FCBF) contains high cellulose content such as 63.17% and very little wax (0.42%). Good thermal stability of the fiber up to 225°C was produced from thermogravimetric analysis, which is well indicated within its polymerization process temperature. FCBF’s exhibit suitable properties that are to be used as natural reinforcement material.

Numerical and Experimental Analyses of Hybrid Composites Made from Amazonian Natural Fibers

The application of lignocellulosic fibers as reinforcements in composite materials has found increasing use in recent years, due to the attractive characteristics of natural fibers such as their low cost, high specific modulus, biodegradability, abundance and with many technical qualities. Natural fiber hybrid composites are very frequently used in automotive aerospace and other industries. In this work, numerical and experimental analysis is carried out to compare curauá, jute and sisal fibers in epoxy composites for use in industry. The most appropriate hybridization effect by establishing the amounts of each fiber on the mechanical properties was considered. Finite Element Models were designed and validated through mechanical tests. The number of Finite Element models and specimens performed was determined through the design of experiments using the Taguchi Method and then the results were statistically validated. Higher strength was obtained in composites made with curauá fiber, followed by jute and sisal fibers. Such behavior was achieved by FEM and experimental tests, revealing an increase in tensile strength by increasing the amount of fibers up to 35% in total. Higher strength was achieved when the composite was made with curauá (20 wt.%), jute (10 wt.%) and sisal (5 wt.%) fibers. The results show a good agreement between the FEM and the experimental tests. Furthermore, the results of the present study were compared with those obtained previously mentioned in the open literature.

Water absorption in alkaline-treated coir pith – For use as reinforcement material in polymer matrix composites

Green composites, made of sustainable materials and manufacturing, have been attractive owing to their low cost, renewability, and biodegradability. Coir pith is one of the agrowaste based products available in huge quantities in tropical countries and has superior properties compared to many other natural agrowaste based materials. Due to its sponginess, fluffiness, high porosity, high water absorption, and retention capacity, coir pith poses a significant challenge in its use as a reinforcement material due to interfacial adhesion issues with the polymer matrix phase in composite making. This interfacial adhesion is associated with the high-water absorption capacity of coir. Chemical treatment of natural fibers is one of the methods that have been applied to alter the morphology and chemistry of fibers. In the current study, coir pith was treated using 2% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentration for 20, 40, and 60 min, washed, and oven dried for 72 h. The dried samples were used for the water absorption studies by immersing the samples in distilled water for 2 h and measuring the weight changes every 15 min. The results show that treated coir pith absorbs more water than raw untreated coir pith, and detailed observation of the surface of coir pith after treatment indicates increased surface roughness compared to the surface of a raw particle.

Influence of textile grid forms on tensile mechanical behaviors of carbon textile-reinforced composites with polyethylene (PE) short fibers

Influence of textile grid forms on tensile mechanical behaviors of carbon textile-reinforced composites with polyethylene (PE) short fibers

Wear characteristics, reduction techniques and its application in automotive parts – A review

Wear phenomenon impact the operating efficiency and service life of engineering materials due to the influence of surface interaction at different working conditions. Successive tribological studies on wear-resistant materials in the last decade is estimated at approximately 40% of friction and wear, including laboratory tests. Most locally improvised wear testers in accordance with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and European (EN) standards, though, achieve 95–97% parametric accuracies with reduced cost, they hardly harmonize degradation and Archards coefficients for all possible wear factors, providing little data for simulation of mechanical and chemical wears which are responsible for non-uniform aggregation of wear patterns in practice. Complexities of intermeshing factors which combine to influence the effectiveness of developed test devices span over loads, speeds, temperatures, pressures, and ambience for various applications. This study highlights the techniques of wear characterization, test standards, and wear reduction with emphasis on surface texturing for improved eta/beta phase re-arrangements at low working temperatures in the enhancement of grain contraction during high bias-voltage cathodic substrate multi-phase coating, phosphating during pretreatments using peening techniques, residual stress reduction during cryogenic heat treatments as well as the impact of suitable architectural matrix composite strengthening, microstructures, and material reinforcements as suitable factors to influence improved tribological behaviors in materials. Optimal additive manufacturing (AM‐fabricating) techniques with pretreatments, thermal cycling, and tempering can engineer enhanced anti-tribocorrosion in automotive components.

Multi-objective Optimization of Thermal and Sound Insulation Properties of Basalt and Carbon Fabric Reinforced Composites Using the Taguchi Grey Relations Analysis

ABSTRACT In this study, an experimental investigation was conducted to explore the thermal and acoustic insulation capabilities of basalt fabric and carbon fabric-reinforced composite materials. The relationship between fabric additive ratios and sound and thermal absorption qualities has been studied. The resin is mixed with two distinct mineral powder additions. Taguchi Grey Relations Analysis optimization approach was utilized to discover the composite material with the optimum sound and thermal insulation qualities. The Taguchi Method Experimental Design L18 (mixed 3–6 levels) was chosen. Fabric (six levels), Al2O3 (alumina) filler (three levels), and SiC (silicon carbide) filler (three levels) were chosen as test parameters as input variables based on the experimental design. Sound Transmission Loss and Thermal Conduction Coefficient were chosen as the output parameters to be optimized as response variables. The study’s findings led to the identification of optimal samples for thermal conductivity coefficient and sound transmission loss testing, as well as confirmation tests for these samples. Using the Taguchi Grey Relational Analysis, the best input parameters were discovered to be 30% carbon, 0% Al2O3, and 5% SiC for the best Thermal Conductivity Coefficients (W/mK) and Sound Transmission Loss (dB). As a result of the confirmation test, an improvement of 0.15 was found.

Strong and Flexible Braiding Pattern of Carbon Nanotubes for Composites: Stiff and Robust Structure Active in Composite Materials.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit high strength, Young's modulus, and flexibility and serve as an ideal reinforcement for composite materials. Owing to their toughness against bending and/or twisting, they are typically used as fabric composites. The conventional multiaxial braiding method lacks tension and resultant strength in the thickness direction. Some braiding patterns are proposed; however, they may have shortcomings in flexibility. Thus, this study proposed three types of braiding pattern for fabrics based on natural products such as spider net and honeycomb, in accordance with thickness-direction strength. The spider-net-based structure included wefts with spaces in the center with overlapping warps. At both sides, the warps crossed and contacted the wefts to impart solidness to the structure and enhance its strength as well as flexural stability. In addition, box-type wefts were proposed by unifying the weft and warps into boxes, which enhanced the stability and flexibility of the framework. Finally, we proposed a structure based on rectangular and hexagonal shapes mimicking the honeycomb. Moreover, finite element calculations were performed to investigate the mechanisms through which the proposed structures garnered strength and deformation ability. The average stress in fabrics becomes smaller than half (43%) when four edges are restrained and sliding is inserted. Under three-dimensional forces, our proposed structures underwent mechanisms of wrapping, warping, sliding and doubling, and partial locking to demonstrate their enhanced mechanical properties. Furthermore, we proposed a hierarchical structure specialized for CNTs, which could facilitate applications in structural components of satellites, wind turbines, and ships. The hierarchical structure utilizing discontinuity and sliding benefits the usage for practical mechanical systems.

Kekuatan Tarik yang Dipengaruhi Arah Susunan dan Fraksi Volume Serat Pelepah Nipah Pada Komposit Serat

Nipa plant is a plant that can be found in water areas such as in swamps. Quite a lot that can be utilized from this swamp plant. Utilization of the nipa plant can be sourced from its fruit, midrib, and leaf bones [1]. In addition to the uses previously described, the nipa plant in its midrib has fiber which has been extensively researched on this fiber. Nipa midribs which have fibers can be used as reinforcement for fiber composites. This study aims to determine the effect of arrangement and volume fraction of fibers that have been determined, as well as knowing whether the use of nipa midrib fiber as a composite reinforcement material can or cannot achieve the tensile strength value of the high impact ABS plastic material on the car dashboards. The research method in this study uses factorial design with manual composite printing. The results of this study were that the highest value of the tensile strength of the nipa midrib fiber composite was found in the vertical arrangement direction with a volume fraction 15%, namely 26.43 MPa, while the lowest value is found in the direction of horizontal arrangement with a volume fraction of 15%, namely 14.07 MPa. So that the value of the nipa midrib fiber composite in the vertical arrangement direction with a volume fraction of 15% achieves the tensile strength value of the high impact ABS plastic material on the car dashboards, namely 20 – 40 MPa.

Uji Impact Material Komposit Campuran Serat Bambu Dan Pasir Besi Menggunakan Metode Hand Lay Up

A composite is one of the materials that is a mixture of two or more materials to form a third, more useful material. In this study, researchers chose bamboo fiber and iron sand as reinforcement for composite materials because the selection of bamboo fiber as a research material took into account the potential of bamboo fiber in Indonesia which is abundant and has not been utilized properly. The purpose of making bamboo fibrous composite materials aims to find a material that is lighter stronger and more elastic, can be developed into other products such as the manufacture of drone frames, aircraft bodies, brake pads. The method used is an experiment with making specimens using the hand lay up method and testing using impact testing and micro photo testing. Impact testing is used to determine the properties and characteristics of the material in the form of strength, hardness, and ductility of the material while for micro photos it is used to determine the bond of the material composition with the best impact test. The test standards used are ASTM D6110-10 with random fiber arrangement and ASTM D6110-04 with the arrangement of woven fibers, with variations in volume composition of bamboo fiber and iron sand particles. In the D6110-10 specimens, the best specimens were found in the variation with the most bamboo fibers, namely 35S10 P with an impact energy of 4.27 J and an impact price of 0.04 J / mm2, while the lowest variation was found in the most iron sand, namely 35P10S with an impact energy value of 2.26 J and an impact price of 0.02 J / mm2. In the D6110-04 specimen also showed the same characteristics as the ASTM D6110-10 specimen, the 30S30P variation or the composition of the most bamboo fibers had an impact energy value of 4.09 J while in the 10S10P variation it was only 1.47 J. Thus the more bamboo fibers will make the impact strength of the specimen higher.

Effect of Filler Content on the Morphology and Physical Properties of Poly(Lactic Acid)-Hydroxyapatite Composites.

The effect of hydroxyapatite (HAp) synthesized by the chemical precipitation process on the morphology and properties of composites based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was investigated at various filler content ratios, i.e., 5, 10 and 15 wt%. Both neat PLA and PLA-based composites were first prepared using the solvent casting method, followed by melt compounding in an internal mixer, whereas tensile specimens were obtained by thermo-compression. The study revealed that the addition of 5 wt% of HAp into the PLA led to a slight improvement in both the thermal stability and tensile properties of the composite material in comparison with neat PLA and other composite samples. Indeed, the values of the tensile strength and modulus increased from approximately 61 MPa and 2.9 GPa for the neat PLA to almost 64 MPa and 3.057 GPa for the composite sample, respectively. Moreover, the degradation temperature at a 5 wt% mass loss also increased by almost 5 °C compared to other samples, due probably to a finer dispersion of the HAp particles in the PLA, as observed under a scanning electron microscope. Furthermore, the FT-IR spectra displayed some changes in the chemical structure of the PLA/HAp (5 wt%), indicating the occurrence of filler-matrix interactions. At a higher filler content ratio, a decrease in the properties of the PLA/HAp composites was observed, being more pronounced at 15 wt%. The PLA composite containing 5 wt% HAp presents the best compromise among the investigated properties. The study highlighted the possibility of using HAp without any prior surface treatment as a reinforcement in PLA composite materials.

Analysis and Computer Simulation of Biopore Tubes Made of Concrete Foam Reinforced by Durian Skin Fiber

This research was conducted to utilize durian skin waste into useful materials by maximizing its utilization to solve environmental problems. The idea is to process the fibers so that they can be used as composite reinforcement material. Here, the durian fibers are used as fillers for foam concrete. The so-called concrete foam composite is designed and manufactured to produce tubes utilized for biopore systems. Biopore tube materials were tested and the tubes are also subjected to field tests to check their response subjected to static loading. A series of computer simulations are conducted. Results are compared with other biopore tubes (PVC and concrete). The simulation results show that the concentration of stresses is obviously seen around the hole located in the middle and upper section of the tubes. However, at those critical points in the tubes, the stresses are of smaller than that of the strength of the tubes. We conclude that biopore tubes with 16 holes in total provided on the tube wall are still feasible to be produced.

Kinematic modeling of transverse shear in textile composite reinforcements forming

During the draping of dry textile reinforcements, the high tensile stiffness of fibers and the possible slippage between them significantly modify the transverse shear deformation mechanism. In order to show the limits of classical shell elements (Kirchhoff and Mindlin shell) for textile reinforcements, four-point bending tests of multi-layer fibrous material were conducted and analyzed through experiment and simulation. In forming cases, the mid-surface deformation was obtained by a finite element stress resultant shell, which takes the in-plane shear and bending behavior into account. Based on the quasi-inextensibility of fibers, a kinematic modeling approach was then proposed to efficiently calculate the transverse shear strain. This approach has been implemented in Matlab software as a post-processing application, and can therefore be carried out by any user, together with any finite element software. Different bending tests and hemispherical forming experiments proved the effectiveness and correctness of the approach through comparisons between experimental and numerical results.

Textile architecture for composite materials: back to basics

Abstract In the last several decades, textile-reinforced composites have emerged as a unique class of materials offering intricate features, reduced fabrication costs, introduced multiaxial reinforcement, and enhanced damaged tolerance. Despite these benefits, textile-reinforced composites face challenges as predicting their performance often relies on heuristics and past experiences without gaining insights into the underlying structure of the textile material and its constituents. This tutorial-based mini-review aims to delve into the fundamentals of textile architecture in the context of textile-reinforced composites and provide an overview of their significant physical and structural features that influence the performance characteristics of textile-reinforced composites.