Hygrothermal effects on mechanical joints prepared from fiber reinforced plastic nanocomposites

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (26-27) ◽  
pp. 3875-3891
Author(s):  
Kulwinder Singh ◽  
JS Saini ◽  
H Bhunia ◽  
S Ray Chowdhury

The present work deals with the hygrothermal aging of the bolt joints prepared from glass fiber reinforced plastics. To investigate the effect of nanoclay on joint performance, nanoclay content was varied from 0 to 5 wt%, with laminates prepared from 3 wt% of nanoclay content demonstrating the best mechanical properties. Nanoclay acts as a mechanical interlock between the fiber and the epoxy and thus improves the interfacial bonding. A good dispersion of nanoclay also improves moisture barrier properties which in turn reduces the degradation of the composite material hygrothermal conditions. Bolt joints were prepared from woven glass fiber reinforced laminates incorporating 3 wt% of nanoclay content. To design the bolt joint, ASTM D5961 was used and the geometric parameters, i.e. edge distance to hole diameter (E/D) ratio and width to hole diameter (W/D) ratio were fixed to 5 and 6, respectively. Three different temperatures, i.e. 25℃, 50℃ and 75℃ were considered for the aging to three different duration of exposure, i.e. 1, 2 and 3 weeks. The effect of different levels of bolt torque, i.e. 0, 2 and 4 Nm were considered for the failure analysis of the joint. A full factorial design of experiment was conducted on important control factors, i.e. water temperature, exposure time, bolt torque and material variation. It was found that the hygrothermal conditions degraded the material with temperature as the most contributing factor.

Author(s):  
Kulwinder Singh Chani ◽  
JS Saini ◽  
H Bhunia

This work deals with the accelerated aging of the bolted joints prepared from glass fiber-reinforced nanocomposite laminates. ASTM D5961 was used to design the bolted joint, and the geometric parameters, i.e. width-to hole-diameter ( W/ D) ratio and edge distance-to-hole diameter ( E/ D) ratio were fixed to 6 and 5, respectively. ASTM D1544 was used for accelerated aging, and a maximum of 500 h cyclical ultraviolet exposure, 8 h of ultraviolet radiation at 60 ℃ followed by 4 h of condensation at 50 ℃, was given to the specimens. A full factorial design of experiment was conducted on important control factors, i.e. aging time, bolt torque, and material variation, using response surface methodology. To investigate the effect of nanoclay content, a range of 0–5 wt% was investigated. Specimens with 3 wt% of nanoclay demonstrated optimum tensile strength and were selected to manufacture the bolted joint. Nanoplatelets having high aspect ratio increased the specific surface area and thus the tensile strength of the nanocomposite. It was found that the strength of the joints prepared with and without the nanoclay content decreased with the increase in the duration of aging. However, the joints with the nanoclay content had higher failure loads. The strength retention in the joints with nanoclay content was more in comparison to the joints made with neat epoxy. Nanoclay acted as a mechanical interlock at the fiber–matrix interface and improved the interfacial bond strength. A good dispersion of nanoclay also acts as a barrier to the moisture, which eventually reduces the degradation of the composite material due to the lesser fiber–matrix de-bonding under accelerated aging conditions.


1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Abdullah ◽  
S. Al Araimi and R. A. Siddiqui

Glass fiber reinforced plastics composite is extensively used as a structural material for pools, oil pipes and tanks because it has good corrosion resistance properties.  The effects of weathering on the mechanical properties of glass fiber reinforced plastics (GRP) in the Sultanate of Oman have been studied.  The tensile and three point bend specimens were exposed to outdoor conditions (open atmosphere) in sunlight and tested for various intervals of time.  It was observed that as the exposure time to sunlight, ultraviolet radiation and dust increases the mechanical properties of GRP materials decrease.  The effects of relative humidity (%RH) on the mechanical properties were also studied. It was found that as the relative humidity increased in the atmosphere during the exposure time, the tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus of elasticity are lowered. This work has revealed that the decrease in the mechanical properties of GRP under weathering conditions is subjected to atmospheric conditions such as humidity, temperature, ultraviolet radiation and pollutant.Key Words: Weathering, Glass-Fiber Reinforced Plastics, Degradation


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