In this paper, a comparative study on the fracture toughness of woven glass fibre reinforced polypropylene, chopped glass fibre reinforced polypropylene and nanoclay filled polypropylene composites is presented. Nanoc...In this paper, a comparative study on the fracture toughness of woven glass fibre reinforced polypropylene, chopped glass fibre reinforced polypropylene and nanoclay filled polypropylene composites is presented. Nanoclays (Cloisite 15A) of 1 wt. % to 5 wt. % were filled in polypropylene (PP) matrix and they were subjected to fracture toughness stu-dies. The specimen with 5 wt. % nanoclay showed 1.75 times and 3 times improvement in critical stress intensity factor (KIC) and strain energy release rate (GIC), respectively, over virgin PP. On the other hand, 3 wt. % nanoclay PP composites showed superior crack containment properties. These structural changes of composite specimens were examined using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. It showed that exfoli-ated nanocomposite structures were formed up to 3 wt. % nanoclay, whereas, intercalated nanocomposite structures formed above 3 wt. % nanoclay in the PP matrix. Furthermore, the woven fibre reinforced PP composites demonstrated superior crack resistant properties than that of clay filled nanocomposites and chopped fibre PP composites. However, KIC and GIC values for woven fibre composites were lesser than that of chopped fibre composites. Moreover, KIC and GIC values for both nanoclay filled PP composites and woven fibre composites are comparable even though the clay filled PP demonstrated catastrophic failure. Also, the crack propagation rate of PP-nanoclay composites is comparable to that of chopped fibre composites.展开更多
This work deals with the generation of MATLAB script files that assists the user in the design of a composite laminate to operate within safe conditions. The inputs of the program are the material properties, material...This work deals with the generation of MATLAB script files that assists the user in the design of a composite laminate to operate within safe conditions. The inputs of the program are the material properties, material limits and loading conditions. Equations based on Hooke’s Law for two-dimensional composites were used to determine the global and local stresses and strains on each layer. Failure analysis of the structure was performed via the Tsai-Wu failure theory. The output of the program is the optimal number of fibre layers required for the composite laminate, as well as the orientation of each layer.展开更多
文摘In this paper, a comparative study on the fracture toughness of woven glass fibre reinforced polypropylene, chopped glass fibre reinforced polypropylene and nanoclay filled polypropylene composites is presented. Nanoclays (Cloisite 15A) of 1 wt. % to 5 wt. % were filled in polypropylene (PP) matrix and they were subjected to fracture toughness stu-dies. The specimen with 5 wt. % nanoclay showed 1.75 times and 3 times improvement in critical stress intensity factor (KIC) and strain energy release rate (GIC), respectively, over virgin PP. On the other hand, 3 wt. % nanoclay PP composites showed superior crack containment properties. These structural changes of composite specimens were examined using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. It showed that exfoli-ated nanocomposite structures were formed up to 3 wt. % nanoclay, whereas, intercalated nanocomposite structures formed above 3 wt. % nanoclay in the PP matrix. Furthermore, the woven fibre reinforced PP composites demonstrated superior crack resistant properties than that of clay filled nanocomposites and chopped fibre PP composites. However, KIC and GIC values for woven fibre composites were lesser than that of chopped fibre composites. Moreover, KIC and GIC values for both nanoclay filled PP composites and woven fibre composites are comparable even though the clay filled PP demonstrated catastrophic failure. Also, the crack propagation rate of PP-nanoclay composites is comparable to that of chopped fibre composites.
文摘This work deals with the generation of MATLAB script files that assists the user in the design of a composite laminate to operate within safe conditions. The inputs of the program are the material properties, material limits and loading conditions. Equations based on Hooke’s Law for two-dimensional composites were used to determine the global and local stresses and strains on each layer. Failure analysis of the structure was performed via the Tsai-Wu failure theory. The output of the program is the optimal number of fibre layers required for the composite laminate, as well as the orientation of each layer.
