Woven Glass Fiber Research Articles

Mechanics of chip, delamination, and burr formation in drilling supported woven GFRP composites

A new approach was used in drilling woven glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites to clamping the specimen by a controllable force at drill entry and exit sides. The influence of cutting and support conditions on thrust force, push-out and peel-up delaminations, and burr factor was investigated. A series of ASTM tests were implemented to determine tensile, in-plane shear, Mode I and Mode II fracture toughness properties, which were used to predict the critical thrust force (CTF) at delamination initiation. The delamination and burr areas were accurately measured via inexpensive, easy, and accurate image processing technique. Result from drilling processes revealed that the supported specimens are approximately free from burr accompanied with insignificant peeling within the drill (10 mm)/support hole (12 mm) tolerance. By using support plates, the thrust force was increased up to 8.3% compared to the unsupported conditions. On the other hand, the delaminations were decreased by about 65.5%. The delaminations were dominated by Mode I fracture toughness, which is lower than that of Mode II by 41%. The predicted CTF using concentrated load models are slightly lower than the measured values, which interpret the occurrence of delamination damage on the cutting zone.

Improving mechanical properties of laminated biocomposites for artificial lower limb socket

People need artificial limbs for many reasons, such as illness, injury, or a gene problem. However, these limbs must be changed often because the human body changes as it gains or loses weight. This study examines whether plant fibers could be used instead of metal to make sockets for lower limb prosthetics using a vacuum bagging process. The laminates were formed using woven ramie fiber, bamboo fiber, carbon fiber, glass fiber, Kevlar fiber, and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene UHMWPE fiber. Several mechanical tests, such as impact, maximum shear stress, and flexural tests, were done to investigate the effect of different ways of stacking the fibers on certain mechanical and physical properties. The goal was to find out how changing the orientation and distribution of the fibers affected the composite's properties and how it worked. The outcomes of the tests were evaluated and analyzed to identify the optimal stacking pattern that would yield the desired properties for the composite material. The present investigation demonstrated that the incorporation of diverse reinforcing agents into composite materials exerted a significant influence on their mechanical strength. The composite's properties, such as flexibility, stress tolerance, and toughness upon fracture, improved proportionally with the increasing addition of these materials. The sample with the lamination of (2 perlon + 2 ramie + 2 carbon + 2 ramie + 2 perlon) fiber layers has shown a good impact strength of 81 KJ/m2, a maximum shear stress of 6.07 MPa, and a fracture strength of 174.1 MPa. Novel findings regarding the effect of altering the orientation and distribution of these fibers on the composite's properties could develop more effective prosthetic materials.

Buckling of woven fibre and graphene platelet reinforced nanocomposite laminates

Buckling of a hybrid laminate combining woven glass fibres with graphene platelets in a polymer matrix is the subject of the present study. Multiscale composites provide improved stiffness and light weigh laminates and as such they have become the materials of choice in several applications. The elastic properties of 3-phase materials are determined by using micromechanical relations. In the present study, the elastic constants of the woven fabric are computed first and the second step involves extending the micromechanical computations to determine the properties of the 3-phase woven fabric-graphene reinforced matrix. The objective is to improve the buckling capacity of the woven fabric laminates with high stiffness and light weight graphene reinforcement. Analytical results are given for the buckling load for a simply supported and orthotropic laminate, taking into account the complex pattern of woven fabrics consisting of weft and warp fibres. Numerical results illustrate the effect of the design parameters such as the layer thicknesses, fibre and graphene contents and aspect ratio on the buckling load. In particular, the effectiveness of the graphene reinforcement on improving buckling load is illustrated by means of contour plots.

Influence of Woven Glass-Fibre Prepreg Orientation on the Flexural Properties of a Sustainable Composite Honeycomb Sandwich Panel for Structural Applications.

Owing to the high potential application need in the aerospace and structural industry for honeycomb sandwich composite, the study on the flexural behaviour of sandwich composite structure has attracted attention in recent decades. The excellent bending behaviour of sandwich composite structures is based on their facesheet (FS) and core materials. This research studied the effect of woven glass-fibre prepreg orientation on the honeycomb sandwich panel. A three-point bending flexural test was done as per ASTM C393 standard by applying a 5 kN load on different orientation angles of woven glass-fibre prepreg honeycomb sandwich panel: α = 0°, 45° and 90°. The results show that most of the sandwich panel has almost the same failure mode during the three-point bending test. Additionally, the α = 0° orientation angle shows a higher maximum load prior to the first failure occurrence compared to others due to higher flexibility but lower stiffness. In addition, the woven glass-fibre prepreg orientation angle, α = 0°, has the maximum stress and flexural modulus, which directly depend upon the maximum load value obtained during the flexural test. In addition, the experimental results and analytical prediction for honeycomb sandwich deflection show good agreement. According to the result obtained, it is revealed that woven glass-fibre honeycomb sandwich panels with an α = 0° orientation is a good alternative compared to 45° and 90°, especially when better bending application is the main purpose. The final result of this research can be applied to enhance the properties of glass-fibre-reinforced polymer composite (GFRPC) cross-arm and enhance the existing cross-arm used in high transmission towers.

Numerical Modeling of Low-Velocity Impact on Composite Laminates

The response over the low-velocity impact of various shape impactors on a glass fiber reinforced polymer composite has been numerically analyzed with a hemispherical, flat, partially flat and truncated shaped impactor used to analyze the behavior of resistance of a GFRP composite at various speeds. The numerical analysis was carried out using finite element analysis software, ABAQUS (Dynamic/Explicit). To assess the response of the composite laminates while impacting, finite element models were developed. The Hashin failure criteria were used to represent braided glass-fiber reinforced composite plate damage. Regarding projectile shape, the impact reaction of the composite was examined. The results also show that the mechanical response of woven glass fiber polymer composite under low-velocity projectile impact largely depends on the impactor’s nose shape and the velocity of the impactor.

Low-velocity impact and compression-after-impact behaviors of twill woven carbon fiber/glass fiber hybrid composite laminates with flame retardant epoxy resin

Composite structures suffer from significant residual strength reduction as a result of invisible damage caused by impacts, which can cause severe harm without any prior warning. Fibers play a crucial role in improving the impact resistance of composite materials by providing strength, toughness, and energy absorption. This work explores the dynamic response and residual compressive strength of composite laminates reinforced with twill woven carbon fiber, glass fiber, and carbon fiber /glass fiber hybrid, subjected to low-velocity impact (LVI) and compression-after-impact (CAI) testing. First, the performance of woven carbon fiber composite laminates infused with flame retardant epoxy resin and general epoxy resin was studied. The results indicated a lower load-bearing capacity and elongation of the former. To enhance the impact resistance of the laminates, we explored the effects of incorporating glass fibers into the woven carbon fiber composite laminates. Our findings demonstrated that the introduction of glass fibers alteres the impact damage mode of the laminates and effectively improved their impact resistance and CAI strength. Further, several techniques were adopted to characterize the corresponding damage morphologies and failure mechanisms of the woven carbon fiber composite laminates, which provides valuable insights for their structural design and performance improvement.

Influence of thickness on impact resistance of glass fiber woven composite laminates

AbstractTo investigate the influence thickness has on the impact resistance of glass fiber woven composite laminates, a series of impact tests on 1–5 mm‐thick laminates impacted by the hemispherical‐nosed projectile on a one‐stage gas gun are conducted. The influence thickness has on the ballistic limit, energy absorption, failure mode, and damage mechanism of laminates is analyzed. The results show the ballistic limit velocity of 1–5 mm thickness to increase in a linear manner. It is found that the ballistic limit velocity of laminate 5 mm in thickness is 2.8 times greater than that of a laminate that is 1 mm in thickness. As the impact velocity of the projectile increases, the energy absorption of a laminated plate decreases to approximately 10% before becoming stable. Fiber tensile tearing and matrix cracking occurs on the back of the laminate, while the domain failure mode changes from fiber tensile fracture to shear as the velocity of the projectile increases.

Numerical investigation of the Mode I/Mode II fracture behavior of the hybrid composite joints with a hybrid bondline

In this study, the fracture behavior of fracture characterization bonded joints consisting of hybrid composite adherends and hybrid bondlines under Mode I and Mode II loadings were investigated numerically. Numerical analysis was performed using LS-DYNA. Hybrid composite laminates (HCGFRE) obtained by sequencing plain woven glass fiber reinforced epoxy (GFRE) and plain woven carbon fiber reinforced laminates (CFRE) as adherends. Araldite AV138M and Araldite 2015 epoxy adhesives were also used to create the hybrid bondline. Mode I and mode II fracture behaviors were determined by numerical modeling of the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) and End Notched Flexural (ENF) tests, respectively. In the numerical model, firstly, the fracture parameters of the relevant adhesives were found in the literature, and verification was made utilizing the numerical model. Then, the fracture behavior in both two modes was examined by forming a hybrid bondline. In the literature, there are restricted studies examining the fracture behavior of fracture characterization bonded joints with hybrid bondlines. Additionally, it is not encountered any study determining the both mode I and mode II fracture behavior of composite fracture characterization bonded joints with hybrid bondlines. Therefore, it is thought that this study will gain significant novelties to the existing literature.

Design, manufacturing, and elastic analysis of digital light processing 3D printed fiber reinforced sandwich beams with thermosetting polymer matrix

For the first time, a digital light processing (DLP) three-dimensional (3D) printer is implemented for additive manufacturing of sandwich beams with fiber reinforced facesheets and different core types without using adhesives. After characterizing the formulated thermosetting resin, sandwich beams with honeycomb and square core unit cells were printed in out-of-plane (OP) and in-plane (IP) arrangements, with and without woven glass fiber reinforcement in the facesheets. Meanwhile, using theoretical, micromechanical, and finite element (FE) approaches, the elastic properties and stiffness of sandwich beams were predicted. The stiffness measured from flex tests showed reliable agreement with predictions from analytical and finite element analysis (FEA) for most cases. Additionally, fiber reinforcement significantly increased specific stiffness of these structures, but did not affect the trends for different core geometries. The novel methodology presented here can open new doors for manufacturing advanced structures using DLP 3D printing technology.

Flexural, impact, and dynamic mechanical analysis of glass fiber/ABS and glass fiber/carbon fiber/ABS composites

AbstractIn this study, a hybrid manufacturing technique was proposed to fabricate composites of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) with Bidirectional woven glass fiber mat (GF)/ABS and GF/Bidirectional woven carbon fiber mat (CF)/ABS. The composites were fabricated using fused deposition modeling 3D printing, followed by hot compression molding, and their flexural, impact, and dynamic mechanical behaviors were examined. Results indicated that composites with GF and ABS combinations had shown the highest maximum flexural strength (64.46 MPa) and impact strength (0.089 J/mm2). The hybrid composites showed intermediate performance between ABS and GF/ABS composites, with higher flexural strain before failure than ABS and GF/ABS. A comprehensive analysis utilizing scanning electron microscopy was carried out to evaluate the adhesion characteristics of the fiber‐matrix interface in impact‐tested samples. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that GF/ABS composites had offered superior E′, E″, and tanδ than the hybrid configuration. The peak tan delta values obtained from ABS, GF/ABS, and GF/CF/ABS composites were utilized to determine their respective glass transition temperatures. The observed values for ABS, GF/ABS, and GF/CF/ABS composites were 109.65, 69.95, and 71.5°C, respectively. Some potential applications for the composites fabricated in this study could include the development of lightweight and strong components for aerospace or automotive industries.

Effects of the Simultaneous Strengthening of the Glass Fiber Surface and Polyamide-6 Matrix by Plasma Treatment and Nanoclay Addition on the Mechanical Properties of Multiscale Hybrid Composites

To strengthen the mechanical properties of a fiber-reinforced plastic without deteriorating its toughness caused by adding nanomaterial, multiscale hybrid composites (MHC) composed of polyamide 6 (PA6), woven glass fibers (WGFs), nanoclay, and various additives were fabricated and characterized. A surfactant was used to improve the dispersion of the nanoclay in the composite, and a compatibilizer and toughening agent were added to enhance the interfacial interactions between the nanoclay and PA6 and the toughness of the MHC, respectively. In addition, the WGFs were pretreated with atmospheric-pressure air plasma to enhance the interfacial bonding between the WGF and the mixture composed of PA6/nanoclay/compatibilizer/toughening agent, which constitutes the matrix. The optimal composition of the PA6 mixture, optimal content of the nanoclay, and optimal conditions of the plasma pretreatment of the WGF surface were experimentally determined. A suitable manufacturing process was employed using a material composition that maximizes the mechanical properties of the MHC by mitigating the toughness deterioration owing to nanoclay addition. An appropriate quantity of the nanoclay increased the tensile properties as well as the elongation at the break of the MHC because the toughening agent prevented the reduction in the degree of elongation caused by increasing the clay content to a certain extent. Moreover, the plasma treatment of the WGF enhanced the flexural properties and impact resistance of the MHC. Therefore, not only the tensile strength, modulus, and elongation at the break of the PA6 nanocomposite, which constitutes the matrix of the MHC, increased up to 39.83, 40.91, and 194.26%, respectively, but also the flexural strength and modulus, absorbed impact energy, and penetration limit of the MHC increased by 20.2, 26.8, 83.7, and 100.0%, respectively.

Functionalization of glass fiber woven fabrics by indium tin oxide (ITO) coatings for electromagnetic wave absorption

The effects of surface electrical conductivity and cascading order of ITO surface modified glass fiber woven fabrics (GFWF) on the electromagnetic (EM) behavior of hybrid type multilayered absorber structure were investigated. Additional objective was to create a design guideline for a multilayered absorbing structure according to the needs of specific EM wave absorber applications. For this purpose, indium tin oxide (ITO) sols were deposited on GFWFs by spray pyrolysis technique. The electrical conductivity of these conducting layers was controlled to incorporate EM wave absorbing characteristics to glass fabrics. Surface modified fabrics were then used as reinforcement in a hybrid type multilayered EM wave absorbing structure which is a combination of Jaumann and graded type absorbers effective in 8–12 GHz frequency range (X-band). The highest absorption performance design has been formed by cascading six ITO coated fabrics with gradually increasing electrical conductivity gradient from the front to back layer of the structure. The electromagnetic behavior of the multilayered absorber was tested both with and without metallic backing. The absorber design showed ∼−11 dB reflection loss and ∼−9 dB transmission loss corresponding to ∼80 % average absorption without metallic backing, while its reflection loss and average absorption values were ∼−10.5 dB and ∼93 %, respectively, with metallic backing. The front layer of the multilayered structure with the lowest surface electrical conductivity provided impedance matching between air and receiving surface of the structure minimizing reflection, where the gradual increase in surface conductivity of the layers towards the back provided balanced internal reflection and transmission leading to high overall EM wave absorption. Consequently, by controlling the grading of the surface conductivity of the layers through the thickness, responses of the absorbers can be adjusted to provide tailored characteristics for the required EM wave absorption levels.

Thermal and tensile properties of 3D printed ABS-glass fibre, ABS-glass fibre-carbon fibre hybrid composites made by novel hybrid manufacturing technique

This study was an attempt to combine fused deposition modelling and hot press moulding technique to fabricate hybrid polymer composites using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer, woven glass fibre (GF) and woven carbon fibre (CF). The composite specimens were subjected towere subjected to mechanical and thermal characterization.Tensile strength of GF/ABS and GF/CF/ABS composite were far higher than the virgin ABS. GF/ABS composites displayedimproved thermal resistance by giving a final residue of 42.36%, followed by GF/CF/ABS hybrid composites as per the thermogravimetric analysis. Thermomechanical analysis revealed the coefficient of thermal expansion in the order: ABS > GF/ABS > GF/CF/ABS. The entropy obtained from the DSC curve was of higher value for composites than the ABS. The ABS based composites fabricated from this technique can be applicable to structural parts in the automobiles, aircrafts, shipping vessels, etc.

Effects of interlayer forms on the resistance welding performance of PAEK/CF thermoplastic composite laminates

The main purpose of this study is to investigate usability of resistance welding joining method for poly (aryletherketone) (PAEK) thermoplastic matrix/carbon fiber (CF) reinforced composite laminates (PAEK/CF). For this purpose, effects of six different Interlayer Forms having different stainless steel meshes as Heating Elements and different woven glass fiber forms as Insulating Layers were studied. After determining welding parameters for each specimen group, performance of the resistance welding operations was compared by ultrasonic inspection, microscopic examination, DSC analyses, and by three different interlaminar mechanical tests. Analyses and tests generally revealed that use of stainless steel meshes as Heating Elements could supply proper amperage level for the heating, melting and crystallization stages of the PAEK matrix during welding consolidation. Depending on the lay-up configuration of Interlayer Forms, “amperage levels” determined for the heating, melting dwell and crystallization dwell were in the ranges of 46–100 A, 40–90 A and 25–50 A, respectively, It was also observed that in order to prevent Current Leakage problem to the other layers in the composite laminate, rather thicker and heavier woven glass fiber forms as Insulating Layers should be used. Otherwise, not only voids could form in the thermoplastic matrix, but also delamination might occur in the upper or lower PAEK/CF composite laminates being welded. When thicker and heavier insulating layer was used; interlaminar mechanical properties of Single Lap Shear Strength, Fracture Toughness under Mode-I and Mode-II were determined as high as 36.77 MPa, 3.76 kJ/m2 and 4.71 kJ/m2, respectively.

The effect of lamina configuration on low-velocity impact behaviour for glass fiber/rubber curved composites

The aim of this study is to produce curved sandwich composites with different arrays by adding Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) rubber interlayers between glass fiber woven fabrics and to investigate their behaviours under low-velocity impact. For this purpose, sandwich plates were produced through the vacuum infusion method by using glass fiber and rubber layers on the steel mold manufactured in curved form. Impact tests were applied on the plates and the effect of the stacking sequence for glass fibers/rubber layer on the impact energy absorption was examined. The energy absorption property of the composites was improved by a maximum of 45% with a layer epdm used in the midplane of the composite. Also, when rubber layers were used on the outermost surface of the composites, the damage area reduced by 14%. In the numerical part, the tests were modelled using LS-DYNA finite element packaged programme and the Hashin failure criterion-based material model was used in order to view any damages on the composite structure after the tests. The agreement between numerical and experimental results was obtained with a maximum error of 19%

Effect of stress ratio on tension-tension fatigue behaviour of woven angle ply GFRP laminates

The fatigue behavior of woven angle ply glass fiber reinforced plastic laminates under tension–tension fatigue loading has been investigated. Rectangular specimens were subjected to fatigue loading of constant amplitude at three stress levels 80%, 70% and 60% of ultimate tensile strength for stress ratios 0.1 and 0.3. The fatigue life in woven angle ply GFRP composites was improved at all stress levels once the stress ratio was raised from 0.1 to 0.3. Moreover, it was determined that the fatigue life, fatigue stiffness, cyclic creep strain and dissipated energy were dependent on stress level and stress ratio.

Buckling in rectangular hybrid composite plates with angled groove-shaped cut-outs

Abstract In this paper, eight-layer composite laminates were produced using twill and plain woven glass and carbon laminate fibers as a reinforcement element and as a matrix with epoxy resin. All laminates having the layup of [(0°/90°)2]s but the hybrid laminate arrangement varies between the number of woven glass and carbon laminates. The buckling behaviour of woven composite laminates used for typical of the aerospace industry is investigated. Un-grooved and grooved with centered elliptical groove angles with 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75° and 90° specimens were subjected to buckling tests. It was investigated how the woven type, laminate designation, and groove angles affect the buckling behaviour. Cut-out causes to decrease of buckling load of composite plates. It is understood that the buckling load increased with regard to the increase groove angle (from 0° to 90°) of the composite plates. As the laminate designation changed, the buckling load also changed significantly. The buckling load of composite plates is highly influenced by its weave type. As a fiber, it has been determined that the buckling behaviour of carbon fiber is better than glass fiber. In addition, it was concluded that the twill weave type is generally better than the plain weave type.

Effect of stress level on creep-fatigue interaction of woven angle ply GFRP laminates

In this study, effect of stress level on creep-fatigue interaction of woven angle ply glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) has been studied. The rectangular test specimens were manufactured using bidirectional woven ply (45˚/-45˚) E-glass fiber of eight layers with 300 GSM and layer thickness to be 0.25 mm used as fibre reinforcement and LY556 epoxy Araldite based on Bisphenol A and HY951 hardener mixed as matrix material in the ratio of 10:1. Rectangular specimens were made from the prepared laminates and tested under tensile cyclic loading of constant amplitude at stress ratio 0.1 for three stress levels 80%, 70% and 60% of ultimate tensile strength (UTS) as per ASTM standard D3479. The results showed that cyclic creep strain depends on the stress level and rapid increase in strain happens after 75% of lifecycle at all stress level.

Experimental Study of Mechanical Properties of Unidirectional Woven Carbon Fiber and Fiber Glass - Epoxy Composites

In this study, the mechanical properties of an epoxy, unidirectional woven carbon and fiberglass composite were investigated experimentally. ASTM used for preparing the composite specimen. Different ranges of mixing ratios of woven carbon and fiberglass with epoxy are studied. Tensile, impact and bending test are carried out to investigate the mechanical properties for produced new composites. After testing the mechanical properties of the specimens, it is noted that adding of unidirectional woven carbon layers will leads to strengthens the samples. The mechanical properties of woven carbon composite are far superior to those of woven carbon composite with fiberglass.

Studies on thermoset blend of bismaleimide having multiple swivel groups and biscyanate ester

The materials 2,2-bis [4-(4-maleimidophenoxy phenyl)] propane (BMIX) and bisphenol-A based cyanate ester (BCY) were synthesized. The monomers BMIX and BCY were physically blended (BMCY) in 1:1 mol ratio. The materials BMIX, BCY and BMCY were thermally polymerized and the structural characterisation of the materials was done using Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR). The curing characteristics of BMIX, BCY and its blend (BMCY) were investigated using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The blend BMCY shows considerable differences in the thermal curing behaviour as evidenced by the DSC studies. Blending BCY with BMIX drastically reduces the melting temperature, curing onset temperature and the amount of heat liberated during thermal curing. The thermal stabilities of the crosslinked network polymers (PBMIX, PBCY and PBMCY) were investigated using thermogravimetric analyser (TGA). Detailed TGA studies indicated that the PBMCY shows better thermal stability than the PBMIX and PBCY. The DSC and TG curves indirectly hint about the possible reaction between BMIX and BCY during thermal curing. Woven glass fibre reinforced laminates were prepared using BMIX, BCY and BMCY by solution impregnation followed by drying and compression moulding. The glass laminate having BMCY as the matrix resin showed much better mechanical property (tensile strength) compared to the laminate made using BMIX as the matrix resin.