Specific Flexural Stiffness Research Articles

Evaluation and optimization of flexural properties of anisotropic recycled carbon fiber card web reinforced thermoplastic hollow beams

The flexural properties of hollow beams are influenced by both the structural morphologies and the level of anisotropy of the materials. Card web carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (CWTs), recognized as a promising composite for fabrication with recycled carbon fiber, demonstrate control over fiber alignment and robust mechanical properties, characterized by a wide distribution of fiber lengths. In this study, square-shaped, tube-shaped, and hat-shaped hollow beams are modeled with different geometries. Calculations are performed on different input data featuring CWTs with varying fiber alignments using a modified Mori-Tanaka model, and the results are verified with experimental data. The effects of fiber alignment, beam geometries, and beam types on the flexural properties of CWT hollow beams are evaluated and compared with unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber composites, aluminum alloys, and steel beams. The highest levels of flexural stiffness and specific flexural stiffness (indicative of the most effective lightweight property) in square-shaped and tube-shaped hollow beams were observed in CWTs with higher fiber alignment. The hat-shaped beams achieved the highest level of flexural properties at a relatively lower fiber alignment level. Comparisons with 1 mm wall-thickness steel hollow beams indicated that CWTs with specific fiber alignments could achieve a weight reduction of over 50 % while maintaining the same flexural stiffness. This performance surpasses that of UD composites and aluminum alloys.

3D printed continuous carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite sandwich structure with corrugated core for high stiffness/load capability

In this work, sandwich structure with trapezoidal corrugated cores was 3D printed by fused deposition modeling (FDM) method applying to short and continuous carbon fiber (CF) reinforced nylon filament. The split core of the sandwich structure was designed and fabricated. To investigate the bending characteristics for the sandwich structures, the three-point bending (3 PB) tests were conducted for the different core types. Consequently, it was found that the mechanical behavior and failure modes were significantly changed by core materials and the split number of cores. Also, the dramatic improvements in the mechanical performances (4.1 times higher specific flexural stiffness, 2.6 times larger specific load capability and 8.6 times larger energy absorption capability than those of PET foam core sandwich structure) could be obtained in corrugated sandwich structure which was 3D printed using continuous carbon fiber. This result comes from the precise fiber alignment of continuous carbon fiber along the core, which can be realized only by continuous CF 3D printing technology.

Flexural properties of functionally graded additively manufactured AlSi10Mg TPMS latticed-beams

Due to the recent boom in digital design for additive manufacturing and 3D printing, there has been a significantly growing interest in latticed structures for light design and improved mechanical properties. However, the focus in the literature has mostly been on compressive mechanical properties of uniformly latticed structures with little emphasis on flexural properties of latticed-beams that are functionally graded and hybridized with different lattice topologies. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the effect of lattice relative density gradation and hybridization on the specific flexural properties of prominent sheet-based triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) cellular four-point loaded beams. First, the effective elastic properties of the cubic porous topologies are evaluated computationally to converge to certain sheet-based TPMS cellular structures capable of providing high flexural properties. Schwartz primitive (P) revealed high stiffness to shear loading, meanwhile, the F-Rhombic Dodecahedron (FRD) showed better resistance to uniaxial loading, and the Diamond (D) showed well-combined uniaxial and shear moduli. The selected four-point bend (4 PB) latticed-beams are functionally graded following a bilinear pattern and hybridized through the span of their length inspired by the shearing force and bending moment diagrams arising in the 4 PB beam, in view of the effective elastic properties of the TPMS topologies. The additively manufactured AlSi10Mg uniform, functionally-graded, and hybridized latticed-beams are tested in four-point bending and the results are compared with the finite element results. Both the experimental and numerical outcomes show good agreement within the elastic-plastic regime. From experimental results, it is found that functional grading and hybridization can considerably enhance the specific flexural modulus of sheet-based TPMS latticed-beams. Also, relative density gradation within the four-point bend specimens proved very essential in deflecting crack growth thereby retarding the final failure, meanwhile hybridization is conveyed to mitigate shear-band failure. Combination of functional gradation and hybridization on the latticed-beams resulted in a significant increase in the specific flexural stiffness. Therefore, this study provides guidelines on how to enhance the flexural properties of lightweight beams through lattice functional grading and hybridization.

Biomimetic approaches towards lightweight composite structures for car interior parts

Due to good density specific mechanical properties and low carbon footprint, natural fibre-reinforced plastic composites made from fleeces and felts are frequently used as automotive interior parts. The industry targets further mass reduction. Following a biomimetic technology-pull approach, natural fibre-reinforced polypropylene plates with improved lightweight potential were produced using compression moulding. Best results were obtained for a sandwich structure with thin, unidirectional flax fibre layers surrounding a needle felt based core. It was inspired by the carapace structure of the red-eared slider Trachemys scripta elegans. The lay-up performed well, not only with a high density specific flexural stiffness of 2.33GPa1/3 cm3/g, strength of 9.46 MPa1/2 cm3/g, and energy dissipation but also through less abrupt failure due to an asymmetric orientation of unidirectional fibres in the two face sheets. Combined with a mass-reduced needle felt as a core, this concept displays a promising and unconventional approach for further mass reduced, sustainable interior panels used as non-visible and visible design elements in the vehicle.

Ecomechanics of black corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Antipatharia): A comparative approach

AbstractMechanical properties of the skeleton of four antipatharians (the whip species Cirrhipathes anguina and Stichopathes cf. maldivensis, and the branched species Cupressopathes abies and Cupressopathes cf. pumila) living in shallow waters off the southwestern coast of Madagascar were investigated using a three‐point bending test. The Young's modulus did not differ according to species but was significantly higher in the distal segment of colonies, compared with the basal and median segments. By contrast, the flexural stiffness was significantly higher in whip species compared with branched ones, and in the whip species, flexural stiffness was higher in the basal segment compared with the other two segments, an observation consistent with a specific adaptation of the species to a strong current environment. Although both species cohabit identical flow conditions, whip species are able to maintain their stalk in vertical position, whereas branched species can readily bend over. This suggests that the specific flexural stiffness is linked to contrasting feeding strategies of species with different morphologies in a similar strong current environment.

Structural reuse of wind turbine blades through segmentation

Composite materials offer many advantages during the use phase, but recovery at the end of a lifecycle remains a challenge. Structural reuse, where an end of life product is segmented into construction elements, may be a promising alternative. However, composites are often used in large, complex shaped products with optimised material compositions that complicate reuse. A systematic approach is needed to address these challenges and the scale of processing. We investigated structural reuse taking wind turbine blades as a case product. A new segmentation approach was developed and applied to a reference blade model. The recovered construction elements were found to comply to geometric construction standards and to outperform conventional construction materials on specific flexural stiffness and flexural strength. Finally, we explored the reuse of these construction elements in practice. Together, the segmentation approach, structural analysis and practical application provide insights into design aspects that enable structural reuse.

Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Honeycomb Sandwich Structure with Kenaf/glass Hybrid Composite Facesheet

ABSTRACT The application of a sandwich structure made with composite facesheet and honeycomb core has increased rapidly due to high stiffness to weight ratio characteristics. There is a growing interest in using natural/synthetic hybrid composite to enhance the mechanical performance of natural fiber and reduce the environmental impact compared to synthetic materials. This study investigates the mechanical properties (tensile, edgewise compression, flexural) of the honeycomb sandwich structure with the hybrid composite facesheet, reinforced with different kenaf and glass fiber ratios. Non-hybrid kenaf and glass fiber composites were fabricated for comparison. The result showed that increasing the glass fiber ratio in a hybrid facesheet significantly improved the mechanical performance of the sandwich structure. Compared to the non-hybrid kenaf composite, the hybrid composite showed improved tensile and compression strength by up to 233% and 79%, respectively. The hybrid composite (glass/kenaf/glass) achieved 76% tensile modulus and 87% compression strength of glass fiber composite when the results were normalized. The specific flexural stiffness of the hybrid facesheet using glass fiber in the outer layer exhibited comparable performance by obtaining 89% flexural stiffness of non-hybrid glass composite sandwich structure.

Nondestructive detection of the interfacial failure of steel-polymer sandwich composites during forming process

Steel-polymer composites have low density, high specific flexural stiffness and vibration damping properties over other metal materials. However, the weak interfaces between steel and polymer sheet are the typical locations where the failure occurs. Furthermore, interfacial failure is a fatal reason of the degradation of mechanical properties. Therefore, predicting interfacial failure of the final product is an important technology in commercialization of steel-polymer composites. In this study, we built forming limit diagram (FLD) based on two different failure modes: failure of the bottom skin steel and interfacial failure between the skin steel and core polymer. Acoustic emission (AE) technique was conducted to observe the interfacial failure moment. Peak frequency was found to be the key feature to distinguish interfacial failure. Peak frequency band that indicates interfacial failure was from 300 kHz to 500 kHz. This peak frequency band made it possible to build FLD considering the interfacial failure.

Carbon Fiber and Syntactic Foam Hybrid Materials via Core–Shell Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing

AbstractBiological materials often employ hybrid architectures, such as the core–shell (C–S) motif present in porcupine quills and plant stems, to achieve unique specific properties and performance. Drawing inspiration from these natural materials, a new method to fabricate lightweight and stiff C–S architected filaments is reported. Specifically, a C–S printhead conducive to printing highly loaded fiber‐filled inks, as well as a new low‐density syntactic foam ink, are utilized to 3D‐print C–S architectures consisting of a syntactic epoxy foam core surrounded by a stiff carbon fiber‐reinforced epoxy composite shell. Effective printing of test specimens and structures with controlled geometry, composition, and architecture is demonstrated. The new foam ink exhibits density as low as 0.68 g cm−3 and C–S structures exhibit up to 25% higher specific flexural stiffness (E1/3/ρ) than either constituent alone. Finally, a new mechanical model is presented to predict this performance improvement while accounting for potential eccentricity of the core.

Low-velocity impact behavior of X-Frame core sandwich structures – Experimental and numerical investigation

X-Frame core sandwich structures are fabricated with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) face sheets and aluminum alloy cores. The hybrid combination enables composite face sheets to maximize specific flexural stiffness and X-Frame metal core to improve the impact resistance. The effects of impact energy, impact site and face sheet material type on the impact response and resulting damage state have are investigated experimentally and numerically. The low-velocity impact tests are carried out to study the impact response in terms of the impact load, absorbed energy and failure modes. Meanwhile, finite element analysis is implemented to simulate the impact behaviors and failure mechanisms by the VUMAT subroutine in ABAQUS/Explicit, using a progressive damage model based on the Hashin and Yeh delamination failure criteria. For comparison, all-metallic sandwich structures are also studied to better understand the influence of face sheet materials. These studies reveal that impact response and resulting damage state are strongly dependent on the impact energy and impact site. Composite sandwich structure absorbs more impact energy than aluminum sandwich structure for the perforation case, indicating that the former has better impact resistance. The predicted results of the low-velocity impact response are fairly consistent with the experimental measurements, which suggests that the numerical procedure could be a helpful tool in developing novel lightweight multifunctional structures.

Influence of Corrugation Angle and Load Position on the Flexural Characteristics of Lightweight Plastic Sandwich Panel with Corrugated Cores

The flexural characteristics of corrugated sandwich panels are anisotropic and depend on its corrugation geometry and load position. The objective of this paper is to examine the influence of corrugation angle and load position on the flexural characteristics of plastic sandwich panels with trapezoidal corrugated cores subjected to ASTM three-point bending via finite element analysis. The stress distributions at mid span have been plotted to determine the stress concentration at different corrugation angle and load position. The specific flexural stiffness and modulus have been estimated from the loaddisplacement and stress-strain curves, respectively. The failure of the specimen due to stress or strain limit has been examined via maximum limit stroke. Results have shown that the specific flexural stiffness and modulus improve as the corrugation angle decreases. The load position has influenced the flexural characteristics due to the occurrence of local bending and local tension.

CO2 laser butt-welding of steel sandwich sheet composites

Steel sandwich sheets compared with conventional steel exhibit significant performance improvements such as lower density, higher specific flexural stiffness, and better sound and vibration damping characteristics. However, the main challenge for the broad industrial use is that the joining and assembling methods be used in such a way so as not to alter significantly these characteristics. In the present paper, a laser welding of steel sandwich is examined. The feasibility study of the laser butt-welding of sandwich steel sheets with a CO2 laser beam has revealed that such an approach is possible. A theoretical model of the laser welding process is developed for the investigation of the laser beam impact on both the core and the outer steel layers of the sandwich material. The model presented is based on a novel idea for the simulation of the heat source through the finite element analysis for the estimation of the temperature distribution. Additionally, the effect on the quality of the weld, the strength of the welded sheet, and its damping characteristics are also experimentally investigated and prove that laser welding can be considered as an alternative joining process.

Effect of the foam core density on the bending response on sandwich composites

This paper presents the results of a current study of sandwich panels manufactured by using homogeneous and multilayer core foams with the purpose of improving specific flexural stiffness modulus. In the present study, the core foams were produced by using Verre ScotchitTM-K20 hollow microspheres manufactured by 3M and the selected binder resin was epoxy 520 with hardener 523. The skin was a 2 mm thick carbon/epoxy laminate. The ARAMIS technique was used as an alternative technique to obtain accurate displacement fields. It was concluded that the multilayered panels with different loads of microspheres, putting higher percentage of microsphere in the center and lower in the outer layers, have also higher resistance and stiffness than the panels with homogeneous microsphere percentage cores. It was observed that both properties have a tendency to increase when the displacement rate increases from 0.5 mm/min to 10 mm/min for all architectures. Experimental stiffness agrees well with analytical model predictions.

Forming limit diagram prediction of AA5052/polyethylene/AA5052 sandwich sheets

Metal–plastic sandwich sheet has received increasing attention in aeronautical, automotive, marine and civil engineering industries due to its lower density, higher specific flexural stiffness, better dent resistance, better sound and vibration damping characteristics. In the present study, an AA5052/polyethylene/AA5052 sandwich sheet is developed and its formabilities are investigated. A numerical simulation method based on the Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) damage model is used for simulating the forming process of sandwich sheet, in which the interface conditions between skin sheet and core materials are considered by using the cohesive zone model (CZM). The rigid punch dome tests and the Nakazima forming tests are carried out to build the forming limit diagrams (FLDs) of sandwich sheet. A strain history method is applied to determine the limited strain. Comparisons between predictions and experimental results validate the used numerical simulation method. Finally, the influences of polyethylene’s thickness on the formabilities of sandwich sheet are analyzed. Research results show that: AA5052/polyethylene/AA5052 sandwich sheet has a better formability than monolithic AA5052 sheet and the formability of AA5052/polyethylene/AA5052 sandwich sheet increases with increasing the thickness of polyethylene core layer.

Overmoulding of Plane Structural Foamed Parts with a Second Thermoplastic Component

Over the last few years some highly-efficient manufacturing processes in the field of foam injection moulding occurred based on new developments in the machine, the mould and the material technology. The manufacturing of car interior parts with a soft touch surface for example became possible in a one-step injection moulding process, in which an injection moulded carrier made of a fibre reinforced thermoplastics is overmoulded with a foamed thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). The TPEcomponent with compact skin layers and a foamed core generates a soft touch effect, reduces the part weight and observes the quality standards of the automobile manufacturers. Furthermore this technique offers a much higher economic efficiency compared to conventional manufacturing processes. To lower the part weight even further it is aspired to produce the thermoplastic carrier in a physical or chemical foam injection moulding process. With special mould technologies and the right process management it is already possible to foam light plane parts with a high specific flexural stiffness. As the main function of the carrier is the stiffening of the part an interesting aspect is to combine a stiff foamed carrier with a soft TPE-component by an overmoulding injection moulding process. This paper is going to show the possibility to overmould a plane foam injection moulded part with a second thermoplastic component, e.g. a TPE. The aim is to reach ideal dimensional stability and mechanical properties by the right adjustment of the manufacturing process.

Fabrication of SUS304 Regularly Cell-Structured Material and Their Mechanical Properties

The quasi-static flexural and in-plane compressive properties of SUS304 stainless steel with circular close-packed cells are studied. Microstainless steel tubes coated with Ni3P were selected for constructing hexagonal close-packed arrays, which are subsequently joined together to form a cellular structure. The fabrication technique developed, involves the diffusion bonding of stacked metal tubes under the compressive stress state during heat treatment. SUS304 cell-structured materials can achieve the high specific flexural stiffness and specific flexural yield strength nearly equal to those for the dense materials. In-plane compressive properties as well as deformation behavior are also observed and discussed in this paper.

Mechanical properties of pineapple leaf fiber-reinforced polyester composites

Pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) which is rich in cellulose, relatively inexpensive, and abundantly available has the potential for polymer reinforcement. The present study investigated the tensile, flexural, and impact behavior of PALF-reinforced polyester composites as a function of fiber loading, fiber length, and fiber surface modification. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of the composites were found to increase with fiber content in accordance with the rule of mixtures. The elongation at break of the composites exhibits an increase by the introduction of fiber. The mechanical properties are optimum at a fiber length of 30 mm. The flexural stiffness and flexural strength of the composites with a 30% fiber weight fraction are 2.76 GPa and 80.2 MPa, respectively. The specific flexural stiffness of the composite is about 2.3 times greater than that of neat polyester resin. The work of fracture (impact strength) of the composite with 30% fiber content was found to be 24 kJ m−2. Significant improvement in the tensile strength was observed for composites with silane A172-treated fibers. Scanning electron microscopic studies were carried out to understand the fiber-matrix adhesion, fiber breakage, and failure topography. The PALF polyester composites possess superior mechanical properties compared to other cellulose-based natural fiber composites. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 1739–1748, 1997

Mechanical properties of pineapple leaf fiber‐reinforced polyester composites

Pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) which is rich in cellulose, relatively inexpensive, and abundantly available has the potential for polymer reinforcement. The present study investigated the tensile, flexural, and impact behavior of PALF-reinforced polyester composites as a function of fiber loading, fiber length, and fiber surface modification. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of the composites were found to increase with fiber content in accordance with the rule of mixtures. The elongation at break of the composites exhibits an increase by the introduction of fiber. The mechanical properties are optimum at a fiber length of 30 mm. The flexural stiffness and flexural strength of the composites with a 30% fiber weight fraction are 2.76 GPa and 80.2 MPa, respectively. The specific flexural stiffness of the composite is about 2.3 times greater than that of neat polyester resin. The work of fracture (impact strength) of the composite with 30% fiber content was found to be 24 kJ m−2. Significant improvement in the tensile strength was observed for composites with silane A172-treated fibers. Scanning electron microscopic studies were carried out to understand the fiber-matrix adhesion, fiber breakage, and failure topography. The PALF polyester composites possess superior mechanical properties compared to other cellulose-based natural fiber composites. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 1739–1748, 1997

Straw-reinforced polyester composites

Annual crop fibres are rich in cellulose and they are a cheap and rapidly renewable source of fibres with potential for polymer reinforcement. Straw fibres have been incorporated in a polyester resin matrix and the properties of the fibre and composite determined. The fibres have a Young's modulus of approximately 8 GN m−2 and an effective density of 5.1 kN m−3 when combined with resin. Useful composites can be formulated with an optimum fibre volume fraction of about 0.61, resulting in a flexural stiffness of 7.3 GN m−2 and flexural strength of 56 MN m−2. The specific flexural stiffness is about 2.5 times greater than that of polyester resin and about half that of softwoods and GRP. The work of fracture measured in impact is about half that of softwoods. It is envisaged that alternative methods for processing the fibres and the use of a phenolic resin matrix will improve the composite properties further. Straw-based composites are suitable as core material for structural board products.