Single Reinforcement Research Articles

Geotextile Reinforcement Model Laboratory Test on Silt Soil

Merauke Regency is a lowland area that has soft soil which predominates. One of the methods to overcome the subsidence in silt soil, it is necessary to strengthen it by using geotextiles. The function of the geotextile is to hold the soil surface so that there is no subsidence in the soil. This study aims to determine the carrying capacity of silt soil before and after being given geotextile reinforcement.The study used an experimental method using the addition of Geotextile (non-woven type TS600) to strengthen the carrying capacity of silt soil. The silt soil carrying capacity test was divided into several variations, namely without using geotextile reinforcement and reinforced with 1 layer, 2 layers, and 3 layers of geotextile at a depth of 10 cm, 20 cm and 30 cm.The results of research conducted in the laboratory, the use of geotextile materials to increase the carrying capacity of silt soil has increased compared to the initial conditions. Soil without using geotextiles has a greater decrease, namely at a load of 5 kN there is a settlement of 20.3 mm. By using a single layer geotextile reinforcement material at a load of 5 kN there was a decrease of 10.97 mm, while using a two layer geotextile reinforcement material at a load of 5 kN there was a decrease of 8.09 mm, and using a three layer geotextile reinforcement material with a load of 5 kN there was a decrease of 6.01 mm. It can be concluded that the use of geotextile reinforcement can reduce the settlement of silt soil.

Synergistic corrosion protection of stir-cast hybrid aluminum composites reinforcing CeO2 and GNPs nano-particulates

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the corrosion behavior of stir-cast hybrid aluminum composite reinforced with CeO2 and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) nanoparticulates used as cylinder liner material in the engines (automotive, aerospace and aircraft industries).Design/methodology/approachThe composites were prepared using the stir-casting technique, and their microstructure and corrosion behavior was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and potentiodynamic polarization test, respectively.FindingsThe results showed that the addition of CeO2 and GNPs improved the corrosion resistance of the composites, and the optimal combination of these two nanoparticles was found to be 3 wt.% CeO2 and 3 wt.% GNPs. The enhanced corrosion resistance was attributed to the formation of a protective layer on the surface of the composite, as well as the effective dispersion and uniform distribution of nanoparticles in the matrix. The 0.031362 was noted as the lowest corrosion rate (mmpy) and was noticed in 94% Al-6061 alloy + (3 Wt.% CeO2 + 3 Wt.% GNPs) sample at room temperature and at elevated temperatures; the corrosion rate (mmpy) was observed as 0.0601 and 0.0636 at 45 °C and 75 °C, respectively.Originality/valueIn the vast majority of the published research publications, either cerium oxide or graphene nanoplatelets were utilized as a single reinforcement or in conjunction with other types of reinforcement such as alumina, silicon carbide, carbon nano-tubes, tungsten carbide, etc., but on the combination of the CeO2 and GNPs as reinforcements have very less literatures with 2 wt.% each only. The prepared hybrid aluminum composite (reinforcing 1 wt.% to 3 wt.% in Al-6061 alloy) was considered for replacing the cylinder liner material in the piston-cylinder arrangement of engines.

Effect of hybridization on mechanical and water absorption properties of short palmyra palm leaf stalk/carbon fibers reinforced polyester composites

AbstractRecently, there has been interest in the development of hybrid composites for diverse industrial applications. In this aspect, this paper explores the mechanical (tensile, flexural, impact, and dynamic mechanical analysis) and water (distilled and seawater) absorption properties of palmyra palm leaf stalk/carbon fiber‐based composites. Hybrid composites with various reinforcement weight ratios were manufactured for the experiment employing the compression molding procedure. To analyze the hybridization effect, composites with a single reinforcement were also produced and evaluated. The results demonstrated that adding carbon fiber to palmyra fiber in the matrix enhances the composites' overall mechanical properties. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) was used to assess the broken surface of mechanically tested composites to better comprehend the failure causes. The findings of the moisture absorption test have shown that using carbon fiber in composites reduces moisture absorption due to their hydrophobic behavior. In addition, the specimens dipped in seawater absorbed more water due to the higher pH value of seawater and gained more weight due to salt deposition. The results of this study indicate that the hybrid composite formulation P25C75 exhibits a balance between its mechanical properties and environmental resilience, making it a possible lightweight material for structural applications.Highlights Various properties of palmyra palm/carbon hybrid composites were investigated. Addition of carbon fibers to palmyra palm composites enhanced their properties. Hybrid composites exhibit better‐damping property. Performance, environmental effect, and cost are balanced in hybrid composites.

Response of RC shear walls with single and double layers of reinforcements subjected to in-plane cyclic loading

Reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls are primarily designed to resist lateral actions in buildings, in addition to carrying the vertical loads from above. Recent changes in the Australian concrete standard (AS 3600) enforces RC walls to have double layers of reinforcement in the horizontal and vertical directions to be considered as ductile walls, whereas RC walls with centrally placed single layered reinforcement are regarded as non-ductile walls. The in-plane behaviour of these RC shear walls under both in-plane lateral and vertical loads is complex as many parameters influence their lateral strength and deformity. To extend the knowledge on the performance of RC walls with single and double layered reinforcement, experimental testing followed by an in-depth data analysis was carried out in this study. The experimental study involved testing of two RC walls with the same percentage of reinforcement arranged either in single or in double layers under in-plane cyclic shear loading. The aim of the experimental testing was to investigate the reinforcement detailing effect between a single-layer and a double-layer configuration, while keeping other key structural parameters such as reinforcement ratio, concrete compressive strength, level of axial load, aspect ratio, and slenderness ratio constant. Experimental results revealed that the double layered RC wall possessed higher in-plane strength (by ∼30%) and displacement ductility (by ∼9.7%) than the single layered RC wall. To validate these findings, a database of the single- and double-layered RC walls using results from previous experimental studies was developed to compare the in-plane load capacities of single and double layered RC walls. Existing design provisions from the standards (AS 3600 and ACI 318–19) were employed to predict the in-plane load capacities of the single and double layered RC walls and compared with the experimental results of the database.

Effect of hybridization and stacking sequences on mechanical properties and thermal stability of aloe vera‐roselle‐glass fiber reinforced polymer composites

AbstractEnvironment friendly polymer composites made of plant based natural fibers such as bamboo fiber, roselle fiber (RF), aloe vera fiber (AF) oil, or kenaf fiber are cardinal of the current world toward sustainability. They offer lower carbon footprint, higher biodegradability, higher specific strength, higher thermal, and acoustic characteristics. On the other hand, properties of synthetic glass fibers (GFs) such as high specific strength to weight ratio, great resistance during impact, and high durability extend their application perspective for various engineering materials. As such, in the present study, mechanical properties and thermal stability of hybrid laminate comprising of natural fiber (i.e., AF and RF) and synthetic fiber (i.e., GF) fabricated using hand layup process were investigated. Experimental findings reveal that sequencing of the fibers significantly affects properties of the composite. Introducing a layer of AF between RF increased the tensile strength by 30.2% respectively while hybrid laminates composed of three successive layers of RF exhibited 12.6% higher impact strength compared to hybrid laminate composed of AF. Besides, the thermal stability of hybrid laminates was higher (i.e., minimal weight loss of <6.1% when heated up to 800°) compared to neat polymer or laminates with single reinforcement. The enhanced thermal stability, mechanical properties, and tribological properties of the “greener” hybrid laminates can be employed in various structural or lightweight industrial applications.Highlights Hybridization using natural fibers and synthetic fibers are attempted and investigated. Fiber sequencing significantly affects mechanical properties of the composite. Higher thermal stability of hybrid laminates, that is, minimal weight loss of <6.1% when heated up to 800°. Laminated composed of AF in between RF exhibited lowest frictional coefficient. “Green” hybrid polymer laminate suitable for various structural and lightweight industrial applications is identified.

Numerical Investigation of the Magnetic Alignment of Fe-Co-Coated Single Reinforcement Fibers

Fiber-reinforced composites are progressively more used in a variety of industrial applications. In recent years, carbon fiber-reinforced plastics have become increasingly popular, particularly in the aerospace sector because they offer outstanding mechanical properties combined with low weight. However, the orientation and distribution of the fibers have a significant effect on the mechanical and physical properties of the composite materials. Using conventional manufacturing technologies, it is not always technologically possible to adjust the fiber orientation to the load direction. One possible approach to targeted fiber alignment is the combination of classical manufacturing processes with a superimposed alignment mechanism so that the fibers can be oriented according to the load during component manufacturing. In this context, the orientation and distribution of short and long fibers through an external magnetic field seem to be well-suited to be integrated into the conventional manufacturing process of fiber-reinforced composites. Therefore, the generally non-magnetic reinforcement fibers, e.g. carbon or glass fibers, need to be modified or coated with magnetic materials. In this paper, carbon fibers coated with an iron-cobalt alloy are prepared by electrodeposition for the validation of simulation models developed in previous studies. Furthermore, numerical studies are presented in regard to the orientation of such fibers in polymeric matrices. Thus, simulative investigations of the orientability of coated carbon fibers in polymeric materials are shown and the works provide an important reference for future studies of fiber orientation and alignment using magnetic fields.

Investigation of microstructure, mechanical, and tribological properties of SiC/h-BN/Gr hybrid reinforced Al6061 matrix composites produced by hot extrusion method

In this study, new generation hybrid composite materials were produced by adding SiC, h-BN and Graphite (Gr) to the Al6061 alloy, which has light, corrosion resistant, good formability and weldability properties, giving it abrasion resistance and high strength properties. Five different reinforced and non-reinforced samples were produced, namely Al6061, Al6061%10SiC, Al6061%8SiC%2 h-BN, Al6061%8SiC%2Gr, and Al6061%8SiC%1 h-BN%1Gr, by the hot extrusion method. The density, hardness, microstructure, tensile strength, transverse rupture strength (TRS), and abrasion properties of the synthesized samples are reported in this study. While small agglomerations were observed in the composite materials (10%SiC) produced with a single reinforcement element, it was almost absent in the hybrid composite materials. The hardness of the SiC- and h-BN-containing composites were higher than those of Al6061. The tensile strength and TRS improved relative to those of the reinforcement elements. The addition of h-BN and Gr improved the wear properties.

Al 6061hybrid metal matrix composites with SiC & Al2O3 using stir casting: A review

In this decade, alloy series as well as composites of Aluminum have become a better choice for fabrication of aluminium matrix composites which possess wide range of applications due to excellent material properties. Present study is emphasized on fabrication of Al6061 as matrix and Sic&Al2O3 as reinforcements by stir casting method and impact of these reinforcements on performance on Al MMC. Attention will be given to fabrication technique, process parameters and reinforcements and effect on mechanical properties of Al MMC. Recent research studies describe that the stir-casting method is majorly adopted technique for fabrication and fit for casting Aluminum based Hybrid MMCs. The recent studies showed that the tribological and mechanical properties of the composites get improved by increasing the reinforcement’s percentage. Further hybrid composites showed improved material characteristics as compared to single reinforcement composites. In Future, the studies can focus on the casting of Al 6061 hybrid composites by using stir casting and evaluation of mechanical properties. These composites can find extensive use in automobile and aerospace engineering applications.

Calculation of the formation of normal cracks in a reinforced concrete element based on the deformation theory of plasticity of concrete by G.A. Geniev

The authors present a refined method of determining the moment of cracking in reinforced concrete bar constructions using the diagram of deformation of concrete built on the basis of the deformation theory of plasticity by G.A. Geniev in which the stress and strain invariants of concrete are linked by nonlinear dependences. In the resulting defining equations, the hypothesis of flat sections, as well as the premise of reaching the limit values of concrete deformations on the stretched fibers of the cross-section are used. Stresses in concrete are determined through deformation values in accordance with the nonlinear deformation diagram of concrete. On the basis of the assumptions accepted, analytical dependences for determining the moment of cracking in the sections of bending elements with single and double reinforcement have been acquired. The formulas obtained were used in the analysis of various factors influence on crack resistance of bendable reinforced concrete elements. It was found out that the moment of crack formation practically does not change when percentage of reinforcement of longitudinal tensile or compressed reinforcement changes. The most effective method of crack resistance improvement is the increase of concrete strength. The proposed methodology is verified by comparison with experimental results on reinforced concrete prototypes. It is concluded that the use of the diagram of nonlinear deformation of concrete on the basis of the theory of plasticity by G.A. Geniev allows to estimate more strictly the crack resistance of reinforced concrete rod elements.

A quasi-2D exploration of optimum design settings for geotextile-reinforced sand in assistance with PIV analysis of failure mechanism

Many earlier studies were focused on testing different types of geosynthetics to investigate effect of reinforcement on bearing capacity, but the effect of tensile strength on the failure mechanism has not been examined sufficiently. Within this scope, a test setup was prepared to apply strip loads on densely compacted reinforced sand under the plane strain condition. The tank containing the reinforced sand was a rectangular prism with perfect transparency, and its interior dimensions were 960 × 200 × 650 mm3. Firstly, optimum values of design variables (depth of first sheet, length and number of sheets, space between sheets, tensile strength of sheets) for the woven geotextile reinforced sand were determined experimentally. Then, the failure mechanisms of the soil, which were reinforced with geotextiles of different tensile strengths, were observed and analyzed with particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. Consequently, the failure mechanism of the sand with a single geotextile reinforcement was similar to general shear failure of unreinforced soil. Contrarily, the failure surfaces were deeper and longer. Additionally, the deep-footing mechanism reached out large depth in the case of four reinforcement layers. The failure mechanism converted into a punching type due to a hypothetic increase in the bearing depth of reinforcement.

Effect of strain rate on fractography texture descriptor of AA6063/(Si3N4)x/(Cu(NO3)2)y (x=12%, y = 2–6%)composite after multiple ECAP passes: second order statistical texture analysis conjunction with regression analysis

The tensile strength of the ECAP processed composite of AA6063/(Si3N4)x/(Cu(NO3)2)y (x=12%, y=2-6%) at various strain rates from 0.0001 to 1s-1 with an increment of 10 was examined in relation to the seven-fracture image texture descriptor through void features such as void size and distribution. In order to measure the matrices of voids on the fracture surface created through the coalescence of void results to enhance the material hardening as strain rate increases, the second order statistical texture analysis has been used. With respect to the rising strain rate, it was observed that the composite fracture image feature parameter correlation, homogeneity improved by 6 %, and 20.74% for AA6063/12%Si3N4/6%Cu(NO3)2 after I passes as compared to AA6063/12% Si3N4 after III pass. The contrast was reduced by around 58.643% when reinforcement went from a single reinforcement of 12% Si3N4 with I Pass to a composite of two reinforcements (Si3N4, Cu(NO3)2) that had 6% Cu(NO3)2 with I Pass. After three passes on AA6063/12%Si3N4/2%Cu(NO3)2, the maximum entropy was seen due to the material's increased plastic deformation, which led to an uneven particle distribution. As strain rate and copper nitrate percentage grew from 0 to 6 percent, the tensile strength of the composite improved by 34.69%. To assess the importance of fracture image features in relation to tensile strength with respect to strain rate, a regression model was developed. In order to get information about the fracture studies from fractography, the contrast with varying strain rate was nevertheless the aspect, which had the greatest influence.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of LaB6/Ti-6Al-4V Composites Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting

In this study, TiB + La2O3/Ti-6Al-4V composites were successfully prepared by in situ reaction using selective laser melting technology. The effect of LaB6 content on the fabrication quality, microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the composite samples was investigated. The results show that the relative density of the sample gradually decreased from 98.56% to 96.57% as LaB6 content increased from 0 wt% to 3 wt%. With increasing LaB6 content, TiB precipitates gradually aggregated and grew from a discrete needle-like structure to a dendritic structure, before eventually developing a cell-like structure. The dislocations piled up around the TiB and La2O3 reinforcements, which impeded the motion of the dislocations and led to the enhancement of the tensile strength of the samples. Different from the addition of a single reinforcement due to the combined strengthening effect of the micrometer-scale and nanoscale reinforcements, the strength of the samples was increased significantly. The Ti-6Al-4V sample with 3 wt% LaB6 addition showed the most significant strengthening effect. Compared to the pure Ti-6Al-4V sample, the 3 wt% LaB6 addition sample gained a 35.71% increase in hardness and a 14.5% increase in tensile strength. Additionally, wear volume was reduced by 47.5%. The results revealed that the addition of LaB6 was a potential way to improve the mechanical performance of the titanium alloys in the additive manufacturing process.

DIC assessment of foundation soil response for different reinforcement between base and soft subgrade layer – Physical modeling

This paper presents insights from small-scale model tests on statically loaded strip footing on dense base sand supported by a single reinforcement layer. The selected reinforcement includes various lengths of wire mesh and a non-woven geotextile placed on soft subgrade sand. The influence of these inclusions on base and subgrade response (deformations and failure mechanism) is evaluated from the displacement pattern obtained by the digital image correlation (DIC) technique. The benefits of the reinforcement and geotextile were assessed by comparing the results obtained for the improved and unreinforced soil model. Additionally, the confining effect of the reinforcement was experimentally analyzed by comparing the sand displacements around the wire mesh reinforcement with different aperture geometry and geotextile without apertures. These systematically selected reinforcement geometries enabled the investigation of the aperture size influence on base and subgrade behavior during surcharge loading. Results confirm the contribution of reinforcement inclusions to the improved behavior of base and subgrade layers compared to the unreinforced soil. The test results with different reinforcement confirm the influence of the aperture geometry on the model response during the surcharge load application. Compared to large apertures, enhanced confining and membrane actions were obtained for reinforcement with relatively small apertures.

GENEREIT: generating multi-talented reinforcement learning agents

Creating an intelligent system that is able to generalize and reach human or above-human performance in a variety of tasks will be part of the crowning achievement of Artificial General Intelligence. However, even though many steps have been taken towards this direction, they have critical shortcomings that prevent the research community from drawing a clear path towards that goal, such as limited learning capacity of a model, sample-inefficiency or low overall performance. In this paper, we propose GENEREIT, a meta-Reinforcement Learning model in which a single Deep Reinforcement Learning agent (meta-learner) is able to produce high-performance agents (inner-learners) for solving different environments under a single training session, in a sample-efficient way, as shown by primary results in a set of various toy-like environments. This is partially due to the fixed subset selection strategy implementation that allows the meta-learner to focus on tuning specific traits of the generated agents rather than tuning them completely. This, combined with our system’s modular design for introducing higher levels in the meta-learning hierarchy, can also be potentially immune to catastrophic forgetting and provide ample learning capacity.

An Automatic Image Processing Method Based on Artificial Intelligence for Locating the Key Boundary Points in the Central Serous Chorioretinopathy Lesion Area.

Accurately and rapidly measuring the diameter of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) lesion area is the key to judge the severity of CSCR and evaluate the efficacy of the corresponding treatments. Currently, the manual measurement scheme based on a single or a small number of optical coherence tomography (OCT) B-scan images encounters the dilemma of incredibility. Although manually measuring the diameters of all OCT B-scan images of a single patient can alleviate the previous issue, the situation of inefficiency will thus arise. Additionally, manual operation is subject to subjective factors of ophthalmologists, resulting in unrepeatable measurement results. Therefore, an automatic image processing method (i.e., a joint framework) based on artificial intelligence (AI) is innovatively proposed for locating the key boundary points of CSCR lesion area to assist the diameter measurement. Firstly, the initial location module (ILM) benefiting from multitask learning is properly adjusted and tentatively achieves the preliminary location of key boundary points. Secondly, the location task is formulated as a Markov decision process, aiming at further improving the location accuracy by utilizing the single agent reinforcement learning module (SARLM). Finally, the joint framework based on the ILM and SARLM is skillfully established, in which ILM provides an initial starting point for SARLM to narrow the active region of agent, and SARLM makes up for the defect of low generalization of ILM by virtue of the independent exploration ability of agent. Experiments reveal the AI-based method which joins the multitask learning, and single agent reinforcement learning paradigms enable agents to work in local region, alleviating the time-consuming problem of SARLM, performing location task in a global scope, and improving the location accuracy of ILM, thus reflecting its effectiveness and clinical application value in the task of rapidly and accurately measuring the diameter of CSCR lesions.

CONTRIBITION OF MICRO-SILICA AND NANO-MONTMORILLONITE REINFORCEMENTS ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF UV-CURABLE THERMOSET RESIN

UV-curable thermoset resins had been utilized in organic coating industry because of their benefits over conventional adhesives like fast curing, less energy consumption and equipment. In this article, the effects of micro and nano-scaled reinforcements on the mechanical properties of a UV-curable thermoset resin were investigated. The reinforcements are chosen to be nano-scaled Montmorillonite (MMT) and micro-scaled Silica (SiO2). The reason for this choice is that the aforementioned particles are non-toxic, low-cost and in the case of MMT; abundant in nature. According to our knowledge, there is no study on the synergistic effects of those two additives in thermoset resins. 
 The instrumented microindentation test results reveal that maximum improvement on hardness (288%) was achieved by single addition of MMT thanks to the well-distributed silicate layers. Conversely, SiO2 addition diminished both strength (-51%) and modulus (-68%) drastically which is attributed to the possible poor dispersion and weak surface attraction. On the other hand, when those additives were utilized together, the property improvements namely; hardness and modulus are observed to be in between of single addition of either additive. It is suggested that SiO2 contribution does not disturb intercalated/exfoliated-MMT structure and similarly by simultaneous MMT reinforcement, quality of SiO2 dispersion is not affected. It is concluded that one benefit of these SiO2-MMT combinations over single MMT reinforcement could be related to plasticity since they result in less plasticity reduction of -22%-27% compared to MMT (-43%) with the further benefit of higher hardness improvement (+66%) than bare SiO2 addition (-51%).

KAJIAN PENURUNAN TANAH TIMBUNAN PENYEBAB KERETAKAN STRUKTUR RIGID PAVEMENT DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN METODE ASAOKA (Studi Kasus Proyek Pembangunan Jalan XYZ)

<p>Rigid pavement work on the XYZ Road Construction Project experienced a problem, <br />namely the occurrence of cracks in the rigid pavement structure above the box <br />culverts under which soil improvement was carried out using embankment soil. The <br />purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that cause settlement of the <br />embankment that causes the rift of the rigid pavement structure on box culverts built <br />on embankment soil so that the results can be used as a reference for handling or <br />repairing rigid pavement work on box culverts with a structure piled up soil in <br />subsequent segments. From the results of the analysis it can be seen that the process <br />of casting rigid pavement was carried out at two points, namely Point 1 and Point 2 <br />where after casting the rigid pavement, the subgrade beneath it still experienced a <br />decrease of 10 mm and 6 mm. This decline occurred for up to 3 months and caused <br />cracks in the rigid pavement structure above it. This is due to the difference in <br />settlement of the box culvert which was initially assumed not to have decreased <br />again with the surrounding embankment which was still experiencing settlement. In <br />addition, the results of the analysis show that the rigid pavement design uses a <br />single reinforcement so that the capacity of the concrete (Mu) is less than the weight <br />of the concrete itself which causes the concrete to crack.</p>

Single event upset reinforcement technology of DICE flip-flop based on layout design

D flip-flop is the basis of timing logic circuit, and SEMU phenomenon tends to be serious with the integrated circuit process size shrinking to nanometer scale. The anti-SEU ability based on DICE structure for D flip-flop cannot meet the requirements of aerospace engineering. Based on the SEU reinforcement technology of D flip-flop under nano-technology and the SEU mechanism of DICE structure, a layout-level anti-SEU flip-flop design method based on DICE circuit structure is proposed considering the circuit performance, area, power consumption and other resource costs. And then a D flip-flop with SEU resistance is designed by commercial 65 nm process, and the designed flip-flop area is 1.8 times that of commercial structure flip-flop. The function and and radiation simulation results indicate that the establishment time and transmission delay of the flip-flop are equivalent to those of the commercial one, and no SEU occurs under the Ge ion bombardment with the LET threshold of approximately 37 MeV·cm2/mg. The performance of the flip-flop circuit and the ability to resist single particle soft error are excellent. In the anti-radiation ASIC design, the area, wiring resources and timing overhead caused by the reinforcement of the D flip-flop circuit are greatly saved.

Mechanical and physical properties of unsaturated polyester reinforced kenaf core fiber with hybrid cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) and graphene Nanoplatelet(GNP) nanofillers

In this study, the exploration of kenaf core fiber (KCF) was done by incorporating into unsaturated polyester (UPE) as to keep the environment sustain and also due to its potential properties which are good mechanical properties, low cost and importantly massively abundant. The hybridization technique also were applied with the incorporation of total loading level of 3 wt% Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) and graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) into UPE-KCF bio-composite as to support and provide better performance of UPE bio-composite. In revealing the effect of nanofillers utilization towards mechanical and physical properties of UPE-KCF bio-composite, the fabrication of UPE-KCF/CNC/GNP bio-composite were successfully done by using hand lay-up technique and hot compression moulding. The samples were characterized through tensile and flexural test for mechanical analysis and water absorption for physical analysis. Morphology characterization also was done to support the result. The results showed the incorporation of KCF had contributed for the slightly improvement in tensile modulus while both inclusion of nanofillers help the single reinforcement bio-composite to enhance flexural strength and modulus up to 48.2% and 84.21% respectively. The addition of 2 wt% GNP also positively influence physical properties showed by the least percentage of water absorption.

Microstructure evolution and strengthening mechanism of A356 composites reinforced with micron and nano SiCp

The single scale SiCp reinforcement has a limited effect on the comprehensive performance of the composite, which restricts the optimization and improvement of its comprehensive performance. In order to improve the material’s strong plasticity, wear resistance, thermal expansion and other properties of the comprehensive requirements. The (micron and nano) dual-scale SiCp/A356 composites with different volume fractions were prepared using the combination of powder metallurgy and hot extrusion. The effects of different volume fractions of dual-scale SiCp (15, 20, 25, 30 vol.%) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of A356 composites were studied, and the strengthening mechanism of dual-scale SiCp/A356 composites was analyzed. The results show that with the increasing of dual-scale SiCp content, the distribution uniformity and mechanical properties of SiCp first increase and then decrease. When the content of dual-scale SiCp is 25%, the mechanical properties reach their maximum values, with the hardness, yield strength and tensile strength of 112.3 HBW, 228 MPa and 310 MPa, respectively. They are improved by 86.9%, 81.0%, 74.2% as compared with those of A356 alloy, respectively. The fracture modes of dual-scale SiCp/A356 composites are mainly Al matrix tearing and SiCp fracture. The main strengthening mechanism is Orowan strengthening, along with thermal mismatch strengthening, load transfer strengthening and fine grain strengthening.