Comparative Study of Lightweight Glass Fiber and Basalt Fiber Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) Composites Containing Cellulose Nanocrystals

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
AMIR ASADI ◽  
FERDINAND BAAIJ ◽  
ROBERT J. MOON ◽  
KYRIAKI KALAITZIDOU
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Glass Fiber ◽  
Cellulose Nanocrystals ◽  
Basalt Fiber ◽  
Molding Compound ◽  
Sheet Molding Compound ◽  
Fiber Sheet

Lightweight alternatives to glass fiber/epoxy sheet molding compound composites: A feasibility study

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (14) ◽  
pp. 1985-2000
Author(s):  
Amir Asadi ◽  
Ferdinand Baaij ◽  
Robert J Moon ◽  
Tequila AL Harris ◽  
Kyriaki Kalaitzidou
Keyword(s):  
Glass Fiber ◽  
Cellulose Nanocrystals ◽  
Mechanical Performance ◽  
Fiber Type ◽  
Glass Fibers ◽  
Basalt Fiber ◽  
Basalt Fibers ◽  
Molding Compound ◽  
Sheet Molding Compound ◽  
Significant Difference

The focus of this study is to (i) understand the effect of the fiber type and content on the mechanical properties of sheet-molding compounds composites and (ii) investigate possible lightweight alternatives to glass fibers-sheet molding compound composites. Glass fiber and basalt fibers are used to make sheet-molding compound composites and the mechanical performance are determined as a function of the fiber type and content. In addition, cellulose nanocrystals are used to enhance the properties of the sheet-molding compound resin system. The possibility of lightweighting the basalt fiber/epoxy and glass fiber/epoxy sheet-molding compound composites is explored by replacing a portion of the fibers, i.e. 12–16 wt%, with a small amount cellulose nanocrystals, i.e. 1–2 wt%. No significant difference was found between the basalt fiber/epoxy and glass fiber/epoxy sheet-molding compound composites in terms of mechanical and impact properties. When cellulose nanocrystals were added to the composites, the properties of glass fiber/epoxy sheet-molding compound composites were enhanced while those of basalt fiber/epoxy sheet-molding compound composites deteriorated.

scholarly journals Direct Fiber Simulation of a Compression Molded Ribbed Structure Made of a Sheet Molding Compound with Randomly Oriented Carbon/Epoxy Prepreg Strands—A Comparison of Predicted Fiber Orientations with Computed Tomography Analyses

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 164
Author(s):  
Jan Teuwsen ◽  
Stephan K. Hohn ◽  
Tim A. Osswald
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Micro Computed Tomography ◽  
Molding Compound ◽  
Sheet Molding Compound ◽  
Discontinuous Fiber ◽  
Orientation Tensors ◽  
Fiber Sheet ◽  
Local Fiber ◽  
Good Agreement

Discontinuous fiber composites (DFC) such as carbon fiber sheet molding compounds (CF-SMC) are increasingly used in the automotive industry for manufacturing lightweight parts. Due to the flow conditions during compression molding of complex geometries, a locally varying fiber orientation evolves. Knowing these process-induced fiber orientations is key to a proper part design since the mechanical properties of the final part highly depend on its local microstructure. Local fiber orientations can be measured and analyzed by means of micro-computed tomography (µCT) and digital image processing, or predicted by process simulation. This paper presents a detailed comparison of numerical and experimental analyses of compression molded ribbed hat profile parts made of CF-SMC with 50 mm long randomly oriented strands (ROS) of chopped unidirectional (UD) carbon/epoxy prepreg tape. X-ray µCT scans of three entire CF-SMC parts are analyzed to compare determined orientation tensors with those coming from a direct fiber simulation (DFS) tool featuring a novel strand generation approach, realistically mimicking the initial ROS charge mesostructure. The DFS results show an overall good agreement of predicted local fiber orientations with µCT measurements, and are therefore precious information that can be used in subsequent integrative simulations to determine the part’s mesostructure-related anisotropic behavior under mechanical loads.

scholarly journals CHARACTERIZATION OF THE FRACTURE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF C-SMC MATERIALS

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Tiefenthaler ◽  
Philipp S. Stelzer ◽  
Chi N. Chung ◽  
Volker Reisecker ◽  
Zoltan Major
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Fiber ◽  
Tensile Tests ◽  
Representative Specimen ◽  
Carbon Fiber Composites ◽  
Molding Compound ◽  
Sheet Molding Compound ◽  
Compound C ◽  
Specimen Width ◽  
Fiber Sheet ◽  
Point Bend

The fracture mechanics of random discontinuous Carbon Fiber Sheet Molding Compound (C-SMC) materials compared to traditional carbon fiber composites are not well understood. An experimental study was carried out to characterize the fracture behavior of such C-SMC materials. Mode I tests, using double cantilever beam specimens, and mode II tests, adopting the four-point bend, end-notched flexure configuration, were performed. Results show high variations in the forcedeflection responses and scatter in the fracture toughness properties GIc and GIIc, due to the complex mesostructure defined by random oriented carbon fiber chips. To investigate the influence of the mesostructure, tensile tests with varying specimen width and thickness were assessed by stochastic measures to find the representative specimen size.

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