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Theses and dissertations (Engineering and Built Environment)

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Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.Fibrous composites--Fatigue

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    Fatigue performance of nanoclay filled glass fiber reinforced hybrid composite laminate
    (2017) Olusanya, John Olumide; Kanny, Krishnan; Mohan, T.P.
    In this study, the fatigue life of fiber reinforced composite (FRC) materials system was investigated. A nano-filler was used to increase the service life of the composite structures under cyclical loading since such structures require improved structural integrity and longer service life. Behaviour of glass fiber reinforced composite (GFRC) enhanced with various weight percentages (1 to 5 wt. %) of Cloisite 30B montmorillonite (MMT) clay was studied under static and fatigue loading. Epoxy clay nanocomposite (ECN) and hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminates were characterised using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The mechanical properties of neat GFRC and hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminates were evaluated. Fatigue study of the composite laminates was conducted and presented using the following parameter; matrix crack initiation and propagation, interfacial debonding, delamination and S–N relationship. Residual strength of the materials was evaluated using DMA to determine the reliability of the hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminates. The results showed that ECN and hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminates exhibited substantial improvement in most tests when compared to composite without nanoclay. The toughening mechanism of the nanoclay in the GFRC up to 3 wt. % gave 17%, 24% and 56% improvement in tensile, flexural and impact properties respectively. In the fatigue performance, less crack propagations was found in the hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminates. Fatigue life of hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminate was increased by 625% at the nanoclay addition up to 3 wt. % when compared to neat GFRC laminate. The residual strength of the composite materials revealed that hybrid nanoclay/GFRC showed less storage modulus reduction after fatigue. Likewise, a positive shift toward the right was found in the tan delta glass transition temperature (Tg) of 3 wt. % nanoclay/GFRC laminate after fatigue. It was concluded that the application of nanoclay in the GFRC improved the performance of the material. The hybrid nanoclay/GFRC material can therefore be recommended mechanically and thermally for longer usage in structural application.
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    Fracture properties of fibre and nano reinforced composite structures
    (2007) Ramsaroop, Avinash
    Interlaminar cracking or delamination is an inherent disadvantage of composite materials. In this study the fracture properties of nano and fibre-reinforced polypropylene and epoxy composite structures are examined. These structures were subjected to various tests including Single Edge Notched Bend (SENB) and Mixed Mode Bending (MMB) tests. Polypropylene nanocomposites infused with 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 5 weight % nanoclays showed correspondingly increasing fracture properties. The 5 weight % specimen exhibited 161 % improvement in critical stress intensity factor (KIC) over virgin polypropylene. XRD and TEM studies show an increase in the intercalated morphology and the presence of agglomerated clay sites with an increase in clay loading. The improvement in KIC values may be attributed to the change in structure. Tests on the fibre-reinforced polypropylene composites reveal that the woven fibre structure carries 100 % greater load and exhibits 275 % lower crack propagation rate than the chopped fibre specimen. Under MMB conditions, the woven fibre structure exhibited a delamination propagation rate of 1.5 mm/min which suggests delamination growth propagates slower under Mode I dominant conditions. The woven fibre / epoxy structure shows 147 % greater tensile modulus, 63 % greater critical stress intensity factor (KIC), and 184 % lower crack propagation rate than the chopped fibre-reinforced epoxy composite. MMB tests reveal that the load carrying capability of the specimens increased as the mode-mix ratio decreased, corresponding to an increase in the Mode II component. Delamination was through fibre–matrix interface with no penetration of fibre layers. A failure envelope was developed and tested and may be used to determine the critical applied load for any mode-mix ratio. The 5 weight % nanocomposite specimen exhibited a greater load carrying capability and attained a critical stress intensity factor that was 10 % less than that of the fibre-reinforced polypropylene structure, which had three times the reinforcement weight. Further, the nanocomposite exhibited superior strain energy release rates to a material with ten times the reinforcement weight. The hybrid structure exhibited 27 % increase in tensile modulus over the conventional fibre-reinforced structure. Under MMB conditions, no significant increase in load carrying capability or strain energy release rate over the conventional composite was observed. However, the hybrid structure was able to resist delamination initiation for a longer period, and it also exhibited lower delamination propagation rates.