Effect of water absorption on the mechanical properties of hemp fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

Hemp fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites (HFRUPE) were subjected to water immersion tests in order to study the effects of water absorption on the mechanical properties. HFRUPE composites specimens containing 0, 0.10, 0.15, 0.21 and 0.26 fibre volume fraction were prepared. Water absorption tests were conducted by immersing specimens in a de-ionised water bath at 25 °C and 100 °C for different time durations. The tensile and flexural properties of water immersed specimens subjected to both aging conditions were evaluated and compared alongside dry composite specimens. The percentage of moisture uptake increased as the fibre volume fraction increased due to the high cellulose content. The tensile and flexural properties of HFRUPE specimens were found to decrease with increase in percentage moisture uptake. Moisture induced degradation of composite samples was significant at elevated temperature. The water absorption pattern of these composites at room temperature was found to follow Fickian behaviour, whereas at elevated temperatures it exhibited non-Fickian.     

Low stress abrasion of laser irradiated GFRP composites: an experimental and microstructural study

The present paper reports, the mechanism of material removal during low stress abrasive wear of high weight percent glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites. Two different geometries of glass fibre reinforcement namely woven roving (WR) and chopped strand mat (CSM) were used. Unsaturated isophthalic polyester and bisphenol based epoxy resins were used as matrix for the reinforcement. Rubber Wheel Abrasion Tester (RWAT) was used for evaluating the abrasive wear behaviour of the composites. The composite samples were irradiated using a low power He-Ne laser for different time periods, having intensity of 5 mW. The abrasive wear performance of the composites has been determined as a function of applied load, sliding distance and laser irradiation time. The microstructural features of the abraded surfaces of both the laser irradiated and unirradiated composites have been observed by using a scanning electron microscope. Unsaturated polyester based glass fibre woven roving (WR) composite had a higher wear volume as compared to the epoxy based composite. The trend reversed in the case of chopped strand mat (CSM) composites, in which epoxy-based composite showed higher wear volume. The abrasive wear volume of all the composites decreased on irradiating it with laser. These results have been discussed, based on experimental wear data and observed microstructural features of the abraded surfaces.     

Development of kenaf-glass reinforced unsaturated polyester hybrid composite for structural applications

The main aim of this paper is to develop kenaf-glass (KG) fibres reinforced unsaturated polyester hybrid composite on a source of green composite using sheet moulding compound process. Unsaturated polyester resin (UPE) and KG fibres in mat form were used at a ratio of 70:30 (by volume) with treated and untreated kenaf fibre. The kenaf fibre was treated with 6% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) diluted solution for 3 h using mercerization method. The hybrid composites were tested for flexural, tensile and Izod impact strength using ASTM D790-03, ASTM D618 and ASTM D256-04 standards respectively. The highest flexural, tensile and impact strength were obtained from treated kenaf with 15/15 v/v KG fibres reinforced UPE hybrid composite in this investigation.Scanning electron microscopy fractography showed fibre cracking, debonding and fibre pulled-out as the main fracture mode of composites and kenaf treated 15/15 v/v KG reinforced hybrid composite exhibited better interfacial bonding between the matrix and reinforcement compared to other combinations.     

Reinforcement of concrete beam–column connections with hybrid FRP sheet

The paper describes the results of tests on prototype size reinforced concrete frame specimens which were designed to represent the column–beam connections in plane frames. The tests were devised to investigate the influence of fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) reinforcement applied to external surfaces adjacent to the beam–column connection on the behaviour of the test specimens under static loading. Of particular interest under static loading was the influence of FRP reinforcement on the strength and stiffness of beam–column connection. As a key to the study, the hybrid FRP composites of E-glass woven roving (WR) and plain carbon cloth, combined with chopped strand mat (CSM), glass fiber tape (GFT) with a vinyl-ester resin were designed to externally reinforce the joint of the concrete frame. The results show that retrofitting critical sections of concrete frames with FRP reinforcement can provide signification strengthening and stiffening to concrete frames and improve their behaviour under different types of loading. The selections of types of FRP and the architecture of composites in order to improve the bonding and strength of the retro-fitting were also discussed.     

The fracture toughness of bast fibre reinforced polyester composites Part 1 Evaluation and analysis

Hemp and jute fibre reinforced polyester composites were fabricated to various fibre volume fractions (V _f) up to 0.45. Laminates reinforced with a chopped strand mat (CSM) glass fibre were also manufactured. The tensile properties of these materials were evaluated. Fracture toughness was assessed, using linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) principles, under quasi-static loading conditions. At equivalent V _f (0.2) it was found that the fracture toughness (K _Ic) of the CSM glass fibre reinforced material was approximately 3 times greater than that of the natural fibre reinforced laminates and an order of magnitude greater than the unreinforced polymer alone. Critical strain energy release rates (G _c) and plastic zone radii were computed. The G _c of the natural fibre reinforced laminates was approximately an order of magnitude lower than that of the CSM reinforced material at the same V _f. It was hypothesised that the size of the crack-tip plastic zone influences the energy absorbing capacity of the material. By comparing the relative volumes of the plastic zones, implications regarding the toughening mechanisms operative in natural fibre reinforced composites have been made. The applicability of LEFM to characterise toughness in these materials is discussed.     

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF CRACK-INDUCED DYNAMIC DAMAGE GROWTH IN FIBRE COMPOSITES

SUMMARY

The fracture process in composites proceeds by the formation and propagation of a damage zone. The microfracture mechanisms within the damage zone are primarily responsible for energy absorption and dissipation in the macroscopic fracture and, consequently, influence fracture toughness of composites. With this in mind, crack-induced dynamic damage growth has been studied in transparent glass-polyester composites with chopped strand mat and woven fabric as reinforcements. Damage growth has been recorded by photographing the specimens in quick succession using a Cranz-Schardin-type multiple spark camera.

The dynamic damage zone has been observed to propagate, similar to static growth, generally perpendicular to the loading direction; but sometimes the damage zone splits analogous to crack branching in homogenous materials. Higher fibre volume fraction reduces linear damage propagation and increases damage spread in other directions. Damage propagation velocity in the composite appears to be slightly lower than the crack propagation velocity in a polyester resin.     

Study of impact energy and hardness on reinforced polymeric composites

The effect of the type of reinforcement was studied using Charpy impact test as well as hardness test. The material used is composed of polyester reinforced with fiber glass; a material increasingly and widely used in plenty of engineering applications, recently. In order to maximize the output of the present work, studies were carried out on different weight fraction of reinforcement. Two types of composite reinforcement were tested, namely the use of chopped fibers (randomly distributed glass fibers) and woven roving (laying fibers normal to the randomly distributed ones). It has been noted that the values of the Charpy impact resistance and hardness of the tested specimens, yield increases for weight fractions of reinforcement of about 30% to 40%. The results show that there is a scatter in the values of Charpy impact resistance and hardness in the ranges of weight fraction below and higher than the 30% to 40% range. It is also observed that the values of Charpy impact resistance and hardness of the chopped composites are higher than those of chopped and woven roven ones due to the fiber distribution and orientation. The direction of the load is at random angles of orientation to the Chopped fibers in the case of Chopped fibers. The paper discusses the results to explain the out coming trends.     

Predicting the tensile strength of natural fibre reinforced thermoplastics

The tensile strength of short natural fibre reinforced thermoplastics (NFRT) was modeled using a modified rule of mixtures (ROM) strength equation. A clustering parameter, requiring the maximum composite fibre volume fraction, forms the basis of the modification. The clustering parameter highlights that as fibre loading increases, the available fibre stress transfer area is decreased. Consequently, at high volume fractions this decrease in stress transfer area increases the brittleness of the short fibre composite and decreases the tensile strength of the material. A key parameter, the interfacial shear strength, was determined by fitting the micromechanical strength model to tensile strength data at low fibre loading (10 wt%) where there is minimal fibre clustering.To test the modified ROM strength model, compression molded specimens of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) reinforced with hemp fibres, hardwood fibres, rice hulls, and E-glass fibres were created with fibre mass fractions of 10–60 wt%. The modified ROM strength model was found to adequately predict the tensile strength of the various composite specimens.     

Effect of reinforcement type on high velocity impact response of GRP plates using a sharp tip projectile

High velocity impact performance of glass reinforced polyester (GRP) resin composite plates with different type of reinforcement was investigated. The projectile used was a sharp tipped (30°) conical head with total length of 30 mm and shank length of 15 mm with weight of 9.74 g. Five different types of E-glass fiber reinforcement were used, including chopped strand mat (CSM), plain weave, satin weave, unidirectional and cross-ply unidirectional fiber reinforcements. A smooth barrel gas gun was used to conduct high velocity impact tests in the velocity range of 80–160 m/s. Composite plates with size of 15 cm × 15 cm were prepared in 3 and 6 mm thickness. Results showed higher ballistic limit velocity (velocity at which samples fully penetrated the target plates with zero residual velocity) for 3 mm GRP plates with cross-ply unidirectional reinforcement followed by unidirectional reinforcement and plain weave, the plates with satin weave and CSM reinforcements were almost in same level. The thicker specimens (6 mm), plates with plain weave reinforcement showed better ballistic performance towards sharp tipped conical projectile impact, followed by cross-ply unidirectional, satin weave, unidirectional and CSM reinforced plates. Experimentally determined ballistic limit velocity for all specimens correlate well with estimated ballistic limit values obtained in full perforation tests. Damage assessment conducted on all specimens indicated fiber tension and shear failure for thin-walled and sever delamination for the thick-walled specimens as the dominant failure modes.     

Water absorption characteristics of aluminised E-glass fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

Novel aluminised E-glass fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites, originally formulated for enhanced thermal and electrical shielding properties were evaluated in terms of their water absorption. One of the major obstacles delaying the acceptance of novel composites in engineering applications is the degradation of the polymer matrix material by moisture, which effects the physical and mechanical performance over time. The objective of this study was to characterise and quantify the degree of water absorption of novel aluminised E-glass reinforced unsaturated polyester composites. Aluminised E-glass composites were compared alongside their unmetallised E-glass counterparts. Two sets of temperature were used for this study. Results show that aluminised E-glass significantly reduces the saturation point compared to unmetallised E-glass. The differences between aluminised and unmetallised are correlated to fibre coatings. At elevated temperatures the aluminised E-glass sample is unstable and exhibits significantly higher water absorption indicating that a new failure mechanism is occurring.     

Impact and fatigue behaviour of hemp fibre composites

A series of experiments has been carried out to characterize the residual tensile and fatigue properties following impact of non-woven hemp fibre mat reinforced polyester. Additionally, the degradation of tensile modulus during fatigue cycling has been studied and related to the damage accumulation. For comparison purposes, ±45° glass fibre reinforced polyester samples have also been subjected to similar tests. It was found necessary to apply a relatively high pressure to the hemp composite during the curing stage in order to ensure a high enough fibre fraction to provide a significant reinforcing effect. With similar fibre weight fractions, the hemp and glass reinforced materials exhibited similar static tensile properties and fatigue lifetimes. Although the slightly steeper S–N curve of the hemp based material indicated a higher rate of reduction in fatigue strength with increasing cycles, it remained above the S–N curve for the glass based material showing that it was able to withstand slightly higher cyclic stress levels for equivalent numbers of cycles. The major difference in mechanical performance was the poorer resistance of the hemp based composite to impact. Also, the hemp based material failed in a much more brittle manner, without any visible signs of damage, such as the matrix cracking that was seen in the glass fibre based composite. It was found that, if the fatigue lifetime data of impact damaged samples were normalized against the post-impact residual tensile strength, then all data points lay close to a common S–N curve. This implies that residual fatigue lifetimes of damaged samples could be predicted from knowledge of their residual strength and the S–N curve for undamaged material.     

Investigation of the behaviour of a chopped strand mat/woven roving/foam-Klegecell composite lamination structure during Charpy testing

This paper presents the investigation of the characteristic behaviour of polymer matrix composites under Charpy impact conditions with different design configurations of the laminate structure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capability of different lamination designs for composite materials, in term of contact load, energy absorption, deflection and damage behaviour. In this study, laminated panels were fabricated using chopped strand mat (CSM), woven roving fabric (WR) and foam-PVC Klegecell as reinforcement with a combination of epoxy or polyester resin, respectively. Structural panels of composite laminates were produced using a hand lay-up technique. Each configuration design was impact tested to failure. Finite element analyses (FEA) were employed in this study to correlate the experimental value of energy absorption with simulation results. The characteristics of different reinforcement types, matrix type, hybrid type, architecture and orientation type were studied. These characteristics need to be considered, due to their affecting the characteristic behaviour of the composite lamination structures. Based on the results, it was found that differences in configuration design of the lamination structure of the polymer matrix composites do influence the strength and weakness of the materials.     

3D-Quantification of the distribution of continuous fibres in unidirectionally reinforced composites

Synchrotron microtomography is carried out for continuous C-fibre reinforced aluminium and a continuous C-reinforced polymer. The local volume fraction as well as the orientation distribution of the reinforcement are analysed three dimensionally for both composites using self-developed calculation methods. Representative elements for the analysis of the local volume fraction are determined by using two-point probability functions. The results show that regions with smaller volume fractions tend to form channels along the fibre bundles for both composites. Channels of high volume fractions, representing touching fibres (local volume fraction >55 vol%), are identified for the polymer matrix composite. The regions with high volume fraction >50 vol% tend to form clusters in the case of the metal matrix composite. The orientation of the reinforcement is followed throughout the volume of both composites. The results show preferential orientations within each bundle of the fibre reinforced metal. The orientation of the reinforcement is more homogeneous in the fibre reinforced polymer and the largest misorientations are found within the channels separating fibre bundles. The characterisation methods developed in this work can be used to evaluate quality criteria adopted in the stage of development of the composites.     

Tribological Evaluations of Polyester Composites Considering Three Orientations of CSM Glass Fibres Using BOR Machine

In the current work, the effects of chopped strand mat (CSM) glass fibre 450 g/m² on tribo-properties of unsaturated polyester are evaluated. Experimental tests were performed by using Block on Ring (BOR) machine against polished stainless steel under dry contact condition. Three principle orientations of CSM glass fibre in the matrix were considered, i.e. namely Parallel (P-O), Anti-Parallel (AP-O) and Normal (N-O). Specific wear rate, friction coefficient and interface temperature were determined and presented as a function of applied load (30–100 N), and sliding distance (0–14 km) at two different sliding velocities (2.8 and 3.9 m/s). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the damages features on the worn surfaces. The results showed that the orientations of CSM glass fibre significantly influenced the tribological performance of polyester composite. Better tribo performance were achieved when the polyester was reinforced with CSM glass fibre and tested at Parallel orientation. Moreover, specific wear rate and friction coefficient of polyester was reduced by 75%, and 55% at P-O of CGRP composite. The damage features were predominated by debonding of fibers, matrix deformation and polyester debris transfer.     

Post-fire fatigue performance of E-glass/polyester CSM composite laminates

Experimental investigation on E-glass/polyester chopped strand mat (CSM) composite laminates under fatigue loading has been carried out. The laminated composites were exposed to fire for different exposure times up to a maximum of 20 minutes. Monotonic tensile and fatigue tests on standard specimens taken from the fire-exposed panels have been performed in tension-tension mode using INSTRON 8504 universal testing machine at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. The effects of fire exposure on the fatigue performance of the laminates are compared with the unburnt material. The results obtained from the extensive test program show that a short fire exposure could improve the fatigue performance of the E-glass/polyester CSM composite. However, in contrary to the observation on short fire exposure time, the effect of improving fatigue response diminishes quickly with further increase in fire exposure time. Additionally, the test data obtained are used to predict the fatigue life in association with an existing fatigue life model, developed by Caprino and D'Amore. ^{1 , 8}      

Effect of CF/GF fibre hybrid on impact properties of multi-axial warp knitted fabric composite materials

The multi-axial warp knitted fabric (MWK) is a useful reinforcement for composite. Higher mechanical performance resulted from no crimp of the fibre bundle is achieved compared with the general textile composites. For the fibre bundle of MWK, only one type of reinforcement fibre among glass, carbon fibre bundle, and so on has been selected. The mechanical properties and the cost of MWK composite depend on the feature of the fibre bundle. In order to extend the applicability of composite, the concept of “fibre hybrid composite” was applied into the MWK composite. Two kinds of fibre bundle; carbon and glass, were used in the 0/90 multi-axial warp knitted fabric. As the fibre hybrid composite; the inter-layer hybrid composite in which each layer was fabricated by carbon and glass fibre bundle respectively was investigated. Impact properties of composite were investigated by using drop weight impact tests. In case of unsaturated polyester, total energy and progressive energy of inter-layer fibre hybrid composite realized the highest value in all specimens. However, in case of epoxy resin, inter-layer hybrid composite didn’t realize the highest value in all specimens. The difference in energy absorption capability could be described with the fracture mechanism.     

The influence and detection of processing induced defects in roving based composites

The fracture properties of composites are strongly dependent on defects originating from the heterogeneous structure of the composite, the imperfections of the processing methods and the properties of the raw materials. The influence of the glass content, the fibre distribution, the binders etc on the debonding, intra-sttrand crack growth and the final catastrophic crack growth through the inter-strand matrix rich regions has been studied for roving based composites, using a series of chopped strand mat, glass fibre/polyester laminates as model materials. The studies include measurements of stress-strain relations, acoustic emission, hysteresis, mechanical loss factor, laser light scattering, electron and visible light microscopy.     

Effect of nanoclay addition on vibration properties of glass fibre reinforced vinyl ester composites

This paper presents the experimental study of free vibration and damping characteristics of hybrid nanocomposite laminates by reinforcing short fibre chopped strand mat and organically modified montmorillonite clay (0, 1, 3 and 5 wt.%) in the vinyl ester matrix by hand lay-up technique. Theoretical study is also carried out to study the vibration and damping characteristics of hybrid nanocomposites. Dynamic result shows that the second phase nanoscale dispersion in the matrix and E-glass fibre significantly enhances the internal damping of hybrid composites.     

The effect of fibre content on the mechanical properties of hemp and basalt fibre reinforced phenol formaldehyde composites

In this study, mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural and impact strengths of hemp/phenol formaldehyde (PF), basalt/PF and hemp/basalt hybrid PF composites have been investigated as a function of fibre loading. Hemp fibre reinforced PF composites and basalt fibre reinforced composites were fabricated with varying fibre loading i.e. 20, 32, 40, 48, 56 and 63 vol%. The hybrid effect of hemp fibre and basalt fibre on the tensile, flexural and impact strengths was also investigated for various ratio of hemp/basalt fibre loading such as 1:0, 0.95:0.05, 0.82:0.18, 0.68:0.32, 0.52:0.48, 0.35:0.65, 0.18:0.82 and 0:1. Total fibre loading of the hybrid composites was 40 vol%. The results showed that the tensile strength and elongation at break increase with increasing fibre loading up to 40 vol% and decrease above this value for hemp fibre reinforced PF composite. Similar trend was observed for flexural strength and the maximum value was obtained for 48 vol% hemp fibre loading. Impact strength of hemp/PF composite showed a regular trend of increase with increasing fibre loading up to 63 vol%. Tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength values of basalt/PF composites were found to be lower compared to hemp/PF composites. The tensile strength and elongation at break of basalt/PF composite increased by incorparation of basalt fibre up to 32 vol% and decreased beyond this value. Flexural strength of basalt/PF composite decreased linearly with fibre loading. However, the maximum impact strength was obtained for 48 vol% basalt fibre loading. For hemp/basalt hybrid PF composite, the tensile strength decreased with increasing basalt fibre loading. On the other hand, the flexural and impact strengths showed large scatter. The maximum flexural strength value was obtained for 0.52:0.48 hemp/basalt ratio. Corresponding value for impact strength was obtained for 0.68:0.32 hemp/basalt fibre ratio.     

Fire structural resistance of basalt fibre composite

Basalt fibres are emerging as a replacement to E-glass fibres in polymer matrix composites for selected applications. In this study, the fire structural resistance of a basalt fibre composite is determined experimentally and analytically, and it is compared against an equivalent laminate reinforced with E-glass fibres. When exposed to the same radiant heat flux, the basalt fibre composite heated up more rapidly and reached higher temperatures than the glass fibre laminate due to its higher thermal emissivity. The tensile structural survivability of the basalt fibre composite was inferior to the glass fibre laminate when exposed to the same radiant heat flux. Tensile softening of both materials occurred by thermal softening and decomposition of the polymer matrix and weakening of the fibre reinforcement, which occur at similar rates. The inferior fire resistance of the basalt fibre composite is due mainly to higher emissivity, which causes it to become hotter in fire.