Effects Of Different Processes On Mechanical Properties Of CFRP By RTM And VIP Techniques

There is a high demand of hinge bracket for aircraft spoilers from metallic to composite materials in aircraft industries. Therefore, new fabrications process studies to replace the current process. Moreover, the current fabrication processes are of tooling and production are expensive as well as high testing cost. Thus, studies present the effect of different number and orientation of woven carbon fiber layers in laminated composites (CFRP) system in mechanical properties. The composites were fabricated based on eight plies, 16 plies, 24 piles and 32 plies of woven carbon fiber layers. The same orientation of woven carbon fiber layer was fabricated using two different processes which are Resin Transfer Moulding Process (RTM) and Vacuum Infusion Process (VIP). The composites fabricated using both processes undergo tensile test and flexural test to evaluate the effect of different process fabricating the composites with a different number of woven carbon fiber layers. Based on the results, the best properties of composites based on the different fabricated process and number of woven carbon fiber layers can be proposed to replace the manufacturing process for hinge bracket for aircraft spoilers were obtained. The result from the experiment shows that 8CF/EP composites fabricated using VIP have 10.6 % higher in specific strength obtained from tensile test and 64.4 % higher in specific strength obtained from the flexural test. From this results of this study indicate that the composites with 8 plies of carbon fiber fabricated using VIP has a good tensile and flexural strength compared to composites fabricated using RTM and other different plies of carbon in the composite

Kenaf Fibre Composites As Promising Green-Composites For Automotive Car Door Map Pocket Application

The utilisation of natural fibres in composite materials is expanding because of an enactment that constrains automotive makers to reuse and recycle materials,leading to an increase in bio-based materials substances in automotive applications.An experimental investigation was conducted to explore car door map pocket for PROTON Saga FL by using non-woven kenaf (N-W)and hybrid from non- oven/ woven fabric kenaf (HN-W/W).The Hand Lay-up Method followed by vacuum bagging process were used.The results revealed that L2 HN-W/W was the reasonable sample for car door map pocket due to its light weight,good tensile strength and flexural strength as compared to PP.It was also found that the tensile strength and flexural strength were improved by utilising woven kenaf fabric in composites.Result implications and future research directions were also presented

Testing methods in tribology of polymeric composites

This article attempts to describe some of the testing methods commonly used in tribology. It namely illustrates the contact of solid mechanics and nature of surface interaction. With the advent of sustainable development, composite materials now become more prominent in many applications. Many natural fibres in polymeric composites are being introduced in aviation industry, construction, industrial applications, automotive parts, bearing and many others, making tribo-testing more demanding. Relevant to this, the testing methods elaborated here are focused on the different types of wear test rigs used for testing of solid specimens for composite materials. Different mechanisms of wear and sliding friction of materials subjected to different wear test rigs which are built based on ASTM standards simulating the real time conditions are explained. Typical factors contributing to the wear performance of a material such as interfaces temperature (i.e. test specimen / counterface) under dry and wet tribo-testing conditions and roughness property are also detailed

DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF A SOLAR POWERED ROOF EXHAUST FAN

In modern societies, every building should have a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system that provides sufficient comfort. However, the affordability and ease of installation of these systems vary widely. This research intends to design a solar powered roof exhaust fan with a simple installation design. The design has a structure such that parts are oriented around the axis of the fan. Two types of fans were tested: a centrifugal fan and an axial fan. In these experiments, parameters such as ambient, room and attic temperature were measured. The results showed that the centrifugal fan is more effective than the axial fan

Potentiality of Utilising Non-Woven Kenaf Fibre Composite for Car Door Map Pocket

Natural fibres have become an alternative solution of fibrous material in this millennium due to increasing population. In this study, an experimental investigation was conducted to explore the potential of non-woven kenaf as door map pocket reinforced composite. The composite was made by non-woven kenaf as a reinforcement and epoxy resin as a matrix material. The composite was fabricated by hand lay-up process and followed by vacuum bagging process. The composite was made with their thickness or layers of fibre increased, starting with one layer (L1) until six layers (L6). The results revealed that the L2 produced the best optimum tensile strength and flexural strength, increased by 114 % and 19 % respectively, compared to actual product. The highest tensile and flexural strength were L6, about 5.531 kN and 1.041 kN respectively. The evidence from this study suggests that the non-woven kenaf for door map pocket reinforced composite shows good tensile and flexural property as a potential to replace the petroleum-based composite or synthetic thermoplastics

Delamination of impacted composite structures by cohesive zone interface elements and tiebreak contact

Maximising impact protection of fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) laminated composite structures and predicting and preventing the negative effects of impact on these structures are paramount design criteria for ground and space vehicles. In this paper the low velocity impact response of these structures will be investigated. The current work is based on the application of explicit finite element software for modelling the behaviour of laminated composite plates under low velocity impact loading and it explores the impact, post impact and failure of these structures. Three models, namely thick shell elements with cohesive interface, solid elements with cohesive interface, and thin shell elements with tiebreak contact, were all developed in the explicit nonlinear finite element code LS-DYNA. The FEA results in terms of force and energy are validated with experimental studies in the literature. The numerical results are utilized in providing guidelines for modelling and impact simulation of FRP laminated composites, and recommendations are provided in terms of modelling and simulation parameters such as element size, number of shell sub-laminates, and contact stiffness scale factors