Experimental Reexamination of Transverse Tensile Strength for IM7/8552 Tape-Laminate Composites

Due to the observed dependence of transverse-tensile strength, YT, on test geometry and specimen size, there is no consensus regarding a test method that can uniquely measure YT. This study reexamines characterization of YT by comparing results from established flexure tests with results from a new tensile test that exhibits consistent failure in the gage region. Additionally, the effects of surface preparation and direction of transverse fracture are investigated. Results show that YT is inversely proportional to specimen volume and surface roughness, and is insensitive to direction of transverse fracture. The relationship between specimen volume and YT is adequately captured by Weibull strength-scaling theory, except at the tails of the YT distributions. However, specimens exhibited microcracking prior to failure, which violates the weak-link assumptions of the Weibull theory. These findings highlight the challenges of using deterministic YT values in progressive damage analysis

The effect of temperature changes on to quasi-static tensile and flexural performance of glass fibre reinforced PA66 composites

A significant method of reducing CO2 emissions in road vehicles is to reduce the vehicle mass. One means in which this can be achieved is to adopt lightweight materials such as thermoplastic composites. Thermoplastics offer advantages in term of weight when compared to conventional steel and aluminium casting. In this study thermal mechanical testing has been conducted on two types of commercial polyamide 66 (PA66) with 35 wt.% short glass fibre reinforcement. One of the materials was impact modified with an elastomer to increase material toughness. Experimental results showed both the reinforced PA66 materials to be temperature dependent. All test results demonstrated the trade-off in the mechanical properties of the two materials especially the impact modified. PA66 with 35 wt.% short glass fibre exhibits the best tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus for each temperature tested. Whereas the impact modified PA66 with 35 wt.% short glass fibre exhibits the higher strain and toughness for each temperature tested

Development of Carbon Fibre Metal Laminates (CFML): Design, Fabrication and Characterisation

Abstract Fibre Metal Laminates (FMLs) are hybrid materials consisting of metal layers bonded to fibre-reinforced polymer layers. CFML is an FML developed at NAL consisting of thin aluminum foil combined with carbon-epoxy and glass-epoxy prepreg materials. CFML is proposed as the candidate material for the leading edges of wing and empennage of an aircraft as it has superior characteristics in terms of shape retention (due to highly linearly elastic material like carbon/epoxy), energy absorption capability (due to layered structure and plastic deformation), lightning protection (due to the presence of aluminum layers), and also due to its cost effectiveness (lightweight construction and simple production techniques). An important design issue is the internal residual stresses built into the laminate during curing due to differential coefficients of thermal expansion of the different material systems. This report discusses the methods and issues involved in the fabrication of CFML. CFML laminates were fabricated and Tensile, Compression, ILSS and Flexure testing of standard specimens for different lay-ups were done. The failure modes exhibited during these tests indicate that these materials could be better in energy absorption. However, these conclusions need to be validated with the experiments to quantify their energy absorption capability

Using a polyester binder for the interlaminar toughening of glass/epoxy composite laminates

Bisphenol A based polyester is commonly used in the industry as a binder, or tackifier, to produce cost-saving preforms in Liquid Composite Moulding processes such as Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding (VARTM). However, it is often reported that the presence of these polyesters has a detrimental effect on the mechanical properties of the resulting composite laminates. This study shows that interlaminar toughness can be increased without negatively affecting other properties by a applying a bisphenol A based polyester binder. Both polyester modified epoxy resin as well as polyester modified glass/epoxy laminates are studied. It is shown that the presence of the polyester has a profound effect on the curing characteristics and glass transition temperature of the epoxy resin. Furthermore, fracture toughness experiments (Single Edge Notch Bending) show that there is an optimum polyester concentration which leads to a toughened epoxy matrix. Composite laminates are produced from binder coated glass fibre plies with VARTM. Double Cantilever Beam fracture experiments show that the polyester binder increases the Mode I interlaminar toughness by 60 %. Three point bending experiments show that the flexural properties were not negatively affected by the presence of the polyester in the interlaminar region between plies

A major advance in powder metallurgy

Ultramet has developed a process which promises to significantly increase the mechanical properties of powder metallurgy (PM) parts. Current PM technology uses mixed powders of various constituents prior to compaction. The homogeneity and flaw distribution in PM parts depends on the uniformity of mixing and the maintenance of uniformity during compaction. Conventional PM fabrication processes typically result in non-uniform distribution of the matrix, flaw generation due to particle-particle contact when one of the constituents is a brittle material, and grain growth caused by high temperature, long duration compaction processes. Additionally, a significant amount of matrix material is usually necessary to fill voids and create 100 percent dense parts. In Ultramet's process, each individual particle is coated with the matrix material, and compaction is performed by solid state processing. In this program, Ultramet coated 12-micron tungsten particles with approximately 5 wt percent nickel/iron. After compaction, flexure strengths were measured 50 percent higher than those achieved in conventional liquid phase sintered parts (10 wt percent Ni/Fe). Further results and other material combinations are discussed

Study of Ceramic Slurries for Investment Casting with Ice Patterns

Ice patterns generated by rapid freeze prototyping or a molding process can be used to make ceramic investment molds for metal castings. Due to the use of ice, the ceramic slurries must be poured around the pattern and cured at sub-freezing temperatures. Success of this process depends greatly on the mold strength after the gelation of the slurries. This paper describes the experimental results of the mold strength after the gelation of the slurries under different compositions. The parameters considered include mixing time, alumino-silicate vs. fused silica ratio, volume of binder, and volume of catalyst. The strength of the gelled slurries is examined by breaking test bars on a four-point bending apparatus. Weibull modulus for each trial is calculated based on the breaking strength from four-point bend tests. Analysis of variance for breaking strength and Weibull analysis is performed to evaluate the significance of the effect of each parameter. The casting of a bolt is used to demonstrate that metal castings of complex geometry can be fabricated using investment casting with ice patterns.Mechanical Engineerin

The development of test methodology for testing glassy materials

The inherent brittleness of glass invariably leads to a large variability in strength data and a time dependence in strength (i.e., static fatigue). Loading rate plays a large role in strength values. Glass is found to be weaker when supporting loads over long periods as compared to glass which undergoes rapid loading. In this instance the purpose of rapid loading is to fail the glass before any significant crack growth occurs. However, a decrease in strength occurs with a decrease in loading rate, pursuant to substantial crack extension. These properties complicate the structural design allowable for the utilization of glass components in applications such as mirrors for the Space Telescope and AXAF for Spacelab and the space station

Process comparison study. MSFC Center Director's Discretionary Fund (CDDF)

A process comparison study was conducted using four different advanced manufacturing techniques to fabricate a composite solid rocket booster systems tunnel cover. Costs and labor hours were tracked to provide the comparison between the processes. A relative structural comparison of the components is also included. The processes utilized included filament winding, pultrusion, automated tape laying, and thermoplastic thermoforming. The hand layup technique is also compared. Of the four advanced processes evaluated, the thermoformed thermoplastic component resulted in the least total cost. The automated tape laying and filament winding techniques closely followed the thermoplastic component in terms of total cost; and, these techniques show the most promise for high quality components and lower production costs. The pultruded component, with its expensive tooling and material requirements, was by far the most expensive process evaluated, although the results obtained would not be representative of large production runs

PSP resins, new materials which can be hardened by thermal treatment for use in composite materials resistant to heat and fire

A class of easy-to-prepare heterocyclic-aromatic polymers which can be used for matrices in reinforced laminates is described. These polymers can be cured after B-staging with very little evolution of volatile materials, and they retain a low melt-viscosity which leads to low-void laminates. Resins are stable at temperatures below 150 C. Properties of composites with various reinforcements, in particular carbon-fiber unidirectional laminates, are described, and the fire behavior of PSP-glass laminates is reported

Magnetic suspension and balance system advanced study, 1989 design

The objectives are to experimentally confirm several advanced design concepts on the Magnetic Suspension and Balance Systems (MSBS). The advanced design concepts were identified as potential improvements by Madison Magnetics, Inc. (MMI) during 1984 and 1985 studies of an MSBS utilizing 14 external superconductive coils and a superconductive solenoid in an airplane test model suspended in a wind tunnel. This study confirmed several advanced design concepts on magnetic suspension and balance systems. The 1989 MSBS redesign is based on the results of these experiments. Savings of up to 30 percent in supporting magnet ampere meters and 50 percent in energy stored over the 1985 design were achieved