Comparison of elastic properties of different shaped particle reinforced composites using micromechanics and finite element method

In this work, differently shaped carbon nano-sized allotropes reinforced composite properties are estimated and interfacial stresses are calculated and compared to get the best carbon reinforcement. Carbon nanopowder, carbon nanotubes, nanographene and Buckminster fullerenes are selected as these materials have different shapes and reinforcement of these materials in the aluminium matrix will give different properties. The comparative studies are performed by using the Micromechanics and Finite element method. The longitudinal, transverse modulus, Poisson’s ratio are estimated along with the interface stresses between the constituents of carbon power/Al matrix composite, fullerene/Al matrix composite, CNT/Al matrix composite and graphene/Al matrix composite. From this work, it is found that the longitudinal modulus of the composite will be higher by using CNT or Graphene reinforcement and carbon particle or Buckminster fullerene reinforcement will give high transverse modulus than CNT and graphene reinforcement. The interfacial stresses generated between the reinforcement and the Aluminum matrix will be less by using carbon nanopowder than the other allotropes consider for the studies. This work will give an idea of the selection of nanoreinforcement of composite material in the perspective of elastic properties and interfacial stresses.

Moisture absorption effects on the mechanical properties of carbon/epoxy composites

PurposeThis paper investigates the influence of moisture absorption on the mechanical properties of carbon/epoxy composites.Design/methodology/approachThree types of specimens are prepared, which are for longitudinal, transverse and shear tests. Specimens are immersed in distilled water at 70°C for 1, 3 and 9 months. These correspond to the moisture content of 2.2, 3.8 and 5.3%.FindingsCompared to the values at dry condition, the longitudinal modulus, shear modulus and Poisson's ratio are invariant with the moisture content. However, the transverse modulus, transverse strength and shear strength are sensitive to moisture attack. The maximum degradation is 33%, 76 and 33% for the three properties, respectively. It is also worth to note that the longitudinal tensile strength is stable at 1 and 9 months of immersion. However, at 3-months ageing period, there is only 67% of the longitudinal tensile strength retained.Originality/valueThe experimental results are fitted with a residual property model. Results show comparatively good fit, with a difference within 16% except the longitudinal tensile strength at 9-months immersion. This highlights that the model is not suitable to fit the experimental data with a fluctuated trend.

Transverse Young's modulus of carbon/glass hybrid fiber composites

Hybrid fiber composites offer designers a means of tailoring the stress–strain behavior of lightweight materials used in high-performance structures. While the longitudinal stress–strain behavior of unidirectional hybrid fiber composites has been thoroughly evaluated experimentally and analytically, relatively little information is available on the transverse behavior. The objective of the current investigation is to present data on the transverse modulus of elasticity of unidirectional composites with five different ratios of carbon and glass fiber and to compare the data with predictive and fitted models. The transverse modulus increases monotonically with the proportion of glass fiber in the composite. Finite element analysis was used to evaluate different ways to model voids in the matrix and allowed the unknown transverse properties of the carbon fibers to be backed out using experimental data from the all-carbon composite. The finite element results show that the transverse modulus can be accurately modeled if voids are modeled explicitly in the matrix region and if modulus is calculated based on stress applied along the minimum interfiber distance path between adjacent fibers arranged in a rectangular array. The transverse modulus was under-predicted by the iso-stress model and was well predicted by a modified iso-stress model and a modified Halpin–Tsai model.

Validation of Material Algorithms for Femur Remodelling Using Medical Image Data

The aim of this study is the utilization of human medical CT images to quantitatively evaluate two sorts of “error-driven” material algorithms, that is, the isotropic and orthotropic algorithms, for bone remodelling. The bone remodelling simulations were implemented by a combination of the finite element (FE) method and the material algorithms, in which the bone material properties and element axes are determined by both loading amplitudes and daily cycles with different weight factor. The simulation results showed that both algorithms produced realistic distribution in bone amount, when compared with the standard from CT data. Moreover, the simulated L-T ratios (the ratio of longitude modulus to transverse modulus) by the orthotropic algorithm were close to the reported results. This study suggests a role for “error-driven” algorithm in bone material prediction in abnormal mechanical environment and holds promise for optimizing implant design as well as developing countermeasures against bone loss due to weightlessness. Furthermore, the quantified methods used in this study can enhance bone remodelling model by optimizing model parameters to gap the discrepancy between the simulation and real data.

Microdamage, Viscoelasticity and Viscoplasticity as Main Phenomena in Thermal Stress Relaxation in Laminated Composites

Microdamage, viscoplastic and viscoelastic strain development in 90-layers of cross-ply laminates subjected to tensile loading is studied on unsymmetrical GF/EP laminates measuring the thermal curvature change. All three phenomena partially compensate for the effect of the thermal mismatch reducing the residual stress (specimen curvature). The viscoplastic strain contribution to curvature change is the largest whereas the effect of transient viscoelasticity is the smallest. Damage is included in the analysis through its effect on the effective transverse modulus of the 90-layer.

Effective transverse modulus of a damaged layer: Potential for predicting symmetric laminate stiffness degradation

The old concept of the effective stiffness of a 90-layer with intralaminar cracks is revisited performing 3-D FEM parametric analysis of symmetric and balanced laminates. It is shown, focusing on the effective transverse modulus, that the expected dependence of this property on composite elastic properties and laminate lay-up is very weak and follows very simple rules. Calculations show that the effective longitudinal modulus and Poisson’s ratio of the layer are not affected at all by intralaminar cracking. Simple fitting curve for effective transverse modulus change with normalized crack density is obtained from analysis of GF/EP cross-ply laminate. It is shown, comparing with FEM results and experimental data, that this expression can be used as a ‘master curve’ in laminate theory to predict macroscopic elastic property change with crack density in laminates with very different lay-ups and made of different unidirectional composites.

Particularities of Modelling the Mechanical Properties of Woven Composite Fabrics

The mechanical properties of composite fabrics rely on a fabric made by a textile weaving process. In order to use their special ability of being drapeable, instead of just plain weave fabrics, satin or twill reinforcement can be selected. Although some other advantages of the resulting composite, such as good impact resistance or damage tolerance are similar to all woven reinforcement composites, the superior drapeability of satin is a major reason to favour this type of textile reinforcement. This paper is focused on the modelling procedures of stiffness characteristics, specific to satin reinforced laminated composites, using a semi-discrete approach. This method is a compromise between the continuous and pure discrete approaches and is associated with a mesoscopic analysis of the repetitive unit cell (RUC). The elastic properties of the textile reinforced epoxy composite, namely longitudinal modulus and transverse modulus, in case of carbon and fibre glass based 5-harness satin reinforcement, are determined. The differences between the two resulting composite materials and the influence of the various geometric and material parameters involved are studied.

Nanocomposites Based on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes With Effective Young’s Modulus Dependent on Number of Layers

The excellent combination of high strength, stiffness, low density and aspect ratio makes carbon nanotubes ideal reinforcement for nanocomposites. The load transfer between the outer and inner layers of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) is one of the important factor in the reinforcement of nanocomposites. In this work, the effect of variation in number of layers of multiwalled carbon nanotubes on effective tensile, compressive and transverse modulus of composite is evaluated. A 3-D finite element model based on representative volume element, consisting of multiwalled carbon nanotube made of shell elements surrounded by solid matrix material is built. With the increase in number of layers in multiwalled carbon nanotubes, the compressive modulus of composite increases, while the tensile modulus decreases. The transverse modulus of composite is found to increase, with the increase in number of layers in MWCNT. The finite element results for composite are compared with the rule of mixtures results using formulae.