Analysis on fracture behaviour of stitched foam sandwich composites using interlaminar tension test

Sandwich composites are susceptible to interfacial delamination, owing to the mismatches in the material properties between the face sheets and core. Previous studies have shown that stitching can improve the performance of sandwich composites. In this study, an analysis approach was developed to investigate the fracture behaviour of stitched foam sandwich composites. The stitched foam sandwich composites were manufactured by a vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding process. Interlaminar tension tests revealed the effects of the linear thread density on the failure mechanisms of the stitched foam sandwich composites. Asymmetric double cantilever beam tests were performed to investigate the influences of the stitch thread reinforcement on the fracture behaviour. An analytical approach combining extended finite element method and nonlinear spring elements was proposed to predict the failure behaviour of the stitched sandwich composites. Experiment and simulation approaches were employed to investigate the influences of the stitch parameters (stitch pitch and linear thread density) on the ultimate load and energy absorption. The results show that stitched method can significantly enhance the mechanical properties of sandwich composites. The energy absorption and ultimate load values of the specimens tend to increase with an increase in the linear thread density or a decrease in the stitch pitch.

Functional Properties of Kenaf Bast Fibre Anhydride Modification Enhancement with Bionanocarbon in Polymer Nanobiocomposites

The miscibility between hydrophilic biofibre and hydrophobic matrix has been a challenge in developing polymer biocomposite. This study investigated the anhydride modification effect of propionic and succinic anhydrides on Kenaf fibre’s functional properties in vinyl ester bionanocomposites. Bionanocarbon from oil palm shell agricultural wastes enhanced nanofiller properties in the fibre-matrix interface via the resin transfer moulding technique. The succinylated fibre with the addition of the nanofiller in vinyl ester provided great improvement of the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths of 92.47 ± 1.19 MPa, 108.34 ± 1.40 MPa, and 8.94 ± 0.12 kJ m−2, respectively than the propionylated fibre. The physical, morphological, chemical structural, and thermal properties of bionanocomposites containing 3% bionanocarbon loading showed better enhancement properties. This enhancement was associated with the effect of the anhydride modification and the nanofiller’s homogeneity in bionanocarbon-Kenaf fibre-vinyl ester bonding. It appears that Kenaf fibre modified with propionic and succinic anhydrides incorporated with bionanocarbon can be successfully utilised as reinforcing materials in vinyl ester matrix.

Mechanical performance of carbon-fibre braided composite tubes in tension and compression

This article examines the effect of braid angle on the mechanical performance of carbon-epoxy braided tubes in tension and compression. Vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding is used to produce a variety of tubes with several combinations of 15◦and 20◦ braid angles. As uniaxial tensile testing of cylindrical tubes is not trivial, two tensile testing fixture designs are explored. It is found that a combination of mechanical and adhesive gripping produces repeatable fractures between the grips, with no slipping. Tubes with lower braid angles exhibit higher strengths both in tension and compression, as well as absorbing greater amounts of energy in compression.

Improved method of manufacturing carbon nanotube infused multifunctional 3D woven composites

This research work aimed to develop smart multifunctional composites via a process for uniformly dispersing carbon nanotubes (CNT) on an orthogonal three-dimensional (3D) woven glass fabric with minimised filtering effect. These smart composites could detect strain under tensile and flexural loading by the piezoresistive response of the infused CNT network. Conventional vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding was modified to control the infusion of 0.25 wt% CNT on the 3D woven glass fabric by varying the vacuum pressure. Results showed that at 101.3 kPa vacuum pressure, the CNT percolated through the thickness of the orthogonal 3D woven glass fabric while being marginally filtered by the fibres and were suitable for sensing tensile strain, whereas at 30.4 kPa, the CNT were deposited only on the surface of the fabric preform without getting filtered and were suitable for sensing flexural strain.

Degassing and layers variation effect on composite processing by vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding

Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is a fiber reinforced composite (FRC) making process in which resin is impregnated to fabric by application of vacuum. This process is also known as vacuum infusion process. The critical issue in VARTM process is void generation. Voids form due to variety of reasons, most of which can be avoided. Vacuum degassing is one of the solutions which will reduce air entrapped inside resin during impregnation. In this work six laminates from jute and polyester resin were prepared, three with degassing and three without degassing with variation in number of jute layers 5, 10 and 15 respectively. Microscopic examination and mechanical properties have been observed before and after degassing. It was observed that degassing improves mechanical properties of composite laminates and reduce void content. It was observed that the thickness variation in laminate increased as number of layer increased.

Effiziente und Robuste Entwicklung komplexer Faserverbund-Triebwerkstrukturen

Steigende Anforderungen an die Leistungsfähigkeit und Effizienz von Triebwerken lassen sich durch den Einsatz von Metall-Faserverbund-Bauweisen erfüllen. Faser-Kunststoff-Verbunde (FKV) mit ihren herausragenden und einstellbaren mechanischen Eigenschaften bieten das Potential, die Masse strukturell hochbelasteter Komponenten zu reduzieren. Durch die richtungsabhängigen Eigenschaften kann der FKV zielgerichtet für die Anwendung angepasst werden. Die Vielzahl der einstellbaren Parameter in Kombination mit der Entwicklung von komplexen Triebwerkstrukturen führt zu einem interaktiven und interagierenden Entwicklungsprozess. Im Rahmen dieses Beitrages wird ein Ansatz zur kombiniert virtuell-reellen Entwicklung eines Triebwerk-Subsystems am Beispiel des Zwischengehäuses vorgestellt. Ein systematischer Prozess in Kombination mit virtuellen Methoden ermöglicht die effiziente Erarbeitung und modellhafte Abbildung des Gesamtsystems, bestehend aus relevanten Triebwerkselementen (System), dem darin integrierten Zwischengehäuse (Subsystem) und lastübertragenden Faserverbund-Leitschaufeln (Komponente). Durch Detaillierung im Entwicklungsprozess steigt kontinuierlich die Aussagegenauigkeit, wobei gleichzeitig auch der Aufwand erheblich zunimmt. Ein experimenteller Funktions- und Festigkeitsnachweis der Leitschaufel kann zur Reduktion des Entwicklungsrisikos beitragen. Die dafür benötigten Funktionsmuster lassen sich in einem kombinierten Verfahren, bestehend aus Additiver Fertigung und Resin Transfer Moulding, herstellen, wobei der 3D-Druck die Anpassung der realen Funktionsmuster an die Geometrie- und Werkstoffmodifikationen im Rahmen der virtuellen Entwicklung ermöglicht.