Properties of Composite Cylinders Fabricated by Bladder Assisted Composite Manufacturing

Author(s):  
J. P. Anderson ◽  
M. C. Altan

An innovative manufacturing method, bladder assisted composite manufacturing (BACM), to fabricate geometrically complex, hollow parts made of polymeric composite materials is presented. Unlike the conventional bladder or diaphragm assisted curing processes, BACM uses an internally heated bladder to provide the consolidation pressure at the required cure temperature. The feasibility of this manufacturing method is demonstrated by fabricating laminated composite cylinders using multiple cure pressures and number of plies. The elastic moduli, failure strength, fiber volume fraction, and void contents of the cylinders were found to be comparable to the values obtained from flat laminates produced by hot plate molding of the same material. Compared to conventional bladder manufacturing methods, the BACM process reduced the energy required to cure the cylinders by almost 50% due to internal heating and insulated mold.

Author(s):  
Jacob P. Anderson ◽  
M. Cengiz Altan

An innovative manufacturing method, BACM (Bladder Assisted Composite Manufacturing), to fabricate geometrically complex, hollow parts made of polymeric composite materials is presented. BACM uses an internally heated bladder to provide the consolidation pressure at the required cure temperature, and thus produces high quality components. The feasibility of this manufacturing method is demonstrated by fabricating laminated composite cylinders using multiple cure pressures and wall thicknesses. The mechanical properties, energy consumed during the curing, and void content of the composite cylinders, are investigated in detail. The curing of composite cylinders was carried out by circulating heated air inside the bladder. Using the described heating method a number of 2-, 4-, and 6-ply composite cylinders made of E-glass/epoxy prepreg (Newport 321/7781) were prepared as test samples. Cylinders were cured at 121°C (250°F) for 2 hours using bladder pressures of 207 kPa (30 psi), 345 kPa (50 psi), 483 kPa (70 psi), and 621 kPa (90 psi). The mechanical behavior of the cylinders were characterized by compressing sample rings and loading ring segments in three-point bending. The fiber volume fraction and the void content of the cylinders were determined from resin burn-off experiments and density measurements. The cylinders produced using the BACM process were found to exhibit excellent surface quality. The elastic moduli, failure strength, and void contents of the cylinders were comparable to the values obtained from flat laminates produced by hot plate molding. Compared to conventional bladder manufacturing methods, the BACM process reduced the energy required to cure the cylinder by more than 50%.


2015 ◽  
Vol 786 ◽  
pp. 421-425
Author(s):  
R. Arravind ◽  
M. Saravanan ◽  
K. Balasubramanian

This paper discusses about the impact of fiber volume fraction on the bending behavior of a laminated composite beam. A two layered composite beam with upper layer made of glass fiber epoxy resin and reinforced with Kevlar at the bottom side of the beam is modeled and structural analysis is carried out. The analysis shows that the tensile strength increases with increase in fiber volume fraction. The compression strength decreases with increase in fiber volume fraction in the upper fiber where as increases in the bottom fiber and the obtained results are correlating with the experimental and analytical studies.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002199832110047
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Mohamed ◽  
Siddhartha Brahma ◽  
Haibin Ning ◽  
Selvum Pillay

Fiber prestressing during matrix curing can significantly improve the mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced polymer composites. One primary reason behind this improvement is the generated compressive residual stress within the cured matrix, which impedes cracks initiation and propagation. However, the prestressing force might diminish progressively with time due to the creep of the compressed matrix and the relaxation of the tensioned fiber. As a result, the initial compressive residual stress and the acquired improvement in mechanical properties are prone to decline over time. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the mechanical properties of the prestressed composites as time proceeds. This study monitors the change in the tensile and flexural properties of unidirectional prestressed glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites over a period of 12 months after manufacturing. The composites were prepared using three different fiber volume fractions 25%, 30%, and 40%. The results of mechanical testing showed that the prestressed composites acquired an initial increase up to 29% in the tensile properties and up to 32% in the flexural properties compared to the non-prestressed counterparts. Throughout the 12 months of study, the initial increase in both tensile and flexural strength showed a progressive reduction. The loss ratio of the initial increase was observed to be inversely proportional to the fiber volume fraction. For the prestressed composites fabricated with 25%, 30%, and 40% fiber volume fraction, the initial increase in tensile and flexural strength dropped by 29%, 25%, and 17%, respectively and by 34%, 26%, and 21%, respectively at the end of the study. Approximately 50% of the total loss took place over the first month after the manufacture, while after the sixth month, the reduction in mechanical properties became insignificant. Tensile modulus started to show a very slight reduction after the fourth/sixth month, while the flexural modulus reduction was observed from the beginning. Although the prestressed composites displayed time-dependent losses, their long-term mechanical properties still outperformed the non-prestressed counterparts.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152808372110003
Author(s):  
M Atta ◽  
A Abu-Sinna ◽  
S Mousa ◽  
HEM Sallam ◽  
AA Abd-Elhady

The bending test is one of the most important tests that demonstrates the advantages of functional gradient (FGM) materials, thanks to the stress gradient across the specimen depth. In this research, the flexural response of functionally graded polymeric composite material (FGM) is investigated both experimentally and numerically. Fabricated by a hand lay-up manufacturing technique, the unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite composed of ten layers is used in the present investigation. A 3-D finite element simulation is used to predict the flexural strength based on Hashin’s failure criterion. To produce ten layers of FGM beams with different patterns, the fiber volume fraction ( Vf%) ranges from 10% to 50%. A comparison between FGM beams and conventional composite beams having the same average Vf% is made. The experimental results show that the failure of the FGM beams under three points bending loading (3PB) test is initiated from the tensioned layers, and spread to the upper layer. The spreading is followed by delamination accompanied by shear failures. Finally, the FGM beams fail due to crushing in the compression zone. Furthermore, the delamination failure between the layers has a major effect on the rapidity of the final failure of the FGM beams. The present numerical results show that the gradient pattern of FGM beams is a critical parameter for improving their flexural behavior. Otherwise, Vf% of the outer layers of the FGM beams, i.e. Vf% = 30, 40, or 50%, is responsible for improving their flexural strength.


2019 ◽  
Vol 253 ◽  
pp. 02004
Author(s):  
Wael Alnahhal ◽  
Omar Aljidda

This study investigates the effect of using different volume fractions of basalt macro fibers (BMF) on the flexural behavior of concrete beams made with 100% recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) experimentally. A total of 4 reinforced concrete (RC) beam specimens were flexural tested until failure. The parameter investigated included the BMF volume fraction (0%, 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%). The testing results of the specimens were compared to control beam specimen made with no added fibers. The experimental results showed that adding BMF improves the flexural capacity of the tested beams.


2012 ◽  
Vol 583 ◽  
pp. 150-153
Author(s):  
Qian Liu ◽  
Xiao Yuan Pei ◽  
Jia Lu Li

The modal properties of carbon fiber woven fabric (with fiber orientation of 45°/-45°) / epoxy resin composites with different fiber volume fraction were studied by using single input and single output free vibration of cantilever beam hammering modal analysis method. The effect of different fiber volume fraction on the modal parameters of laminated composites was analyzed. The experimental results show that with the fiber volume fraction increasing, the natural frequency of laminated composites becomes larger and damping ratio becomes smaller. The fiber volume fraction smaller, the peak value of natural frequency becomes lower and the attenuating degree of acceleration amplitude becomes faster.


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