Desenvolvimento de compositos com fibras de PAN oxidada para utilização em freios automotivos

Orientador: Edison BittencourtDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia QuimicaResumo: Durante o processo de produção da fibra de carbono (FC), a fibra de poliacrilonitrila (PAN) precursora passa por uma etapa de estabilização ou oxidação. Neste estágio, a fibra (PANox) adquire propriedades mecânicas desejáveis para fins onde um desempenho excelente não é exigido, evitando-se assim, a etapa de carbonização que eleva o custo final da fibra. Então, compósitos com fibras de PANox poderiam ser utilizados em campos onde as FC competem desfavoravelmente com materiais de menor custo, como metais e fibras minerais, em especial, o asbesto. Este mineral, apesar de suas boas propriedades, é conhecido por causar diversos males à saúde, como a asbestose. Após um estudo preliminar sobre a fibra (teor de umidade, TGA, FTIR-MIR e MEV) e a resina (DSC e TGA), buscou-se desenvolver uma metodologia de fabricação de compósitos de PAN oxidada e resina fenólica, com e sem aditivos, através do método de moldagem por compressão à quente, visando uma futura utilização como material de fricção em pastilhas de freios automotivos. Esta aplicação possui um elevado potencial econômico devido à sua alta performance quando comparados a materiais tradicionais. Os compósitos produzidos sofreram uma necessária etapa de pós-cura, evidenciada por análises de DSC, e foram ensaiados por compressão, flexão e fricção, além das análises de teor de umidade, densidade relativa e dureza. Os resultados obtidos indicaram níveis de dureza e fricção compatíveis aos de pastilhas comerciais, principalmente com o uso de aditivos. A estabilidade do coeficiente de fricção, porém, foi apenas regular, pois apresentou uma influência significativa da temperatura. A melhor performance foi obtida quando se utilizou cargas metálicas em combinação com cerâmicas. A metodologia empregada neste trabalho mostrou-se adequada na produção de compósitos por moldagem por compressão à quente, obtendo-se um aumento na regularidade das propriedades no decorrer dos experimentosAbstract: During the production process of the carbon fibre, the precursor polyacrylonitrile fibre (PAN) passes by a necessary step of stabilisation or oxidation. In this stage, the fibre (PANox) has already achieved a determined levei of mechanical properties adequate to applications which do not require an excellent performance, therefore, the carbonisation step, which raises the fibre cost, is avoided. Thus, PANox composites could be used when carbon fibres compete in disadvantage with lower cost material, such as metals and mineral fibres, specially, asbestos. Although this mineral shows good properties, it is known to be harmful and might causes diseases as asbestosis. After a preliminary study about the fibre (moisture content, TGA, FTIR-MIR e SEM) and the resin (DSC and TGA), a methodology for the fabrication of oxPAN and phenolic resins composites, with and without additives, was developed by hot compression moulding. These materials are intended to be used as friction materials for automotive brake pads. This application has deserved a great attention due to its economical potentiality and high performance when compared to traditional materials. The composites passed by a necessary step of post-curing, as proved by DSC analysis, and were analysed by compression, flexural and friction tests, and water content, relative density and hardness measurements. The results for composites with fillers indicated hardness and friction levels comparable to pads in use nowadays, decreasing the great influence of the temperature on the stability of the friction coefficient. The best performance was obtained when metallic and ceramic fillers were combined. The methodology followed in this work was adequate for producing composites by hot compression moulding, achieving an increase in the regularity of the properties during the experimentsMestradoMestre em Engenharia Químic

Multifunctional characteristics of carbon fibers modified with imidazolium ionic liquids

A multifunctional designing approach is of great importance for advanced composite applications. This study assessed the use of ionic liquids (ILs) to modify the surface of carbon fiber (CF) and impart multifunctional characteristics to it. For that, ethanolic solutions of different ILs, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methylimidazolium chloride, at different concentrations, were used to treat the CF. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of IL on the CF surface. The contact angle for 1% w/v IL-treated CF and DGEBA epoxy decreased by up to 35%, corresponding to an increase in surface energy of fiber, accompanied by an increase of 91% in interfacial shear strength. These enhancements were achieved with the hydroxy-functionalized IL, showing the tunability of CF properties through the N-imidazolium substituent. An increase in crystallite size along the basal plane was also found due to the ordering of the graphitic structure on the surface. Moreover, there was a decrease in electrical resistivity of 77%. In all, the imidazolium ILs were considered a promising approach to induce multifunctional characteristics, namely enhanced interfacial strength and electrical conductivity, to unsized CF, which can also be beneficial for recycled fibers without deteriorating their inherent surface properties

A numerical study on the influence of strain rate in finite-discrete element simulation of the perforation behaviour of woven composites

Predicting the perforation limit of composite laminates is an important design aspect and is a complex task due to the multi-mode failure mechanism and complex material constitutive behaviour required. This requires high-fidelity numerical models for a better understanding of the physics of the perforation event. This work presents a numerical study on the perforation behaviour of a satin-weave S2-glass/epoxy composite subjected to low-velocity impact. A novel strain-rate-dependent finite-discrete element model (FDEM) is presented and validated by comparison with experimental data for impacts at several energies higher and lower than their perforation limit. The strain rate sensitivity was included in the model by developing a novel user-defined material model, which had a rate-dependent bilinear traction separation cohesive behaviour, implemented using a VUSDFLD subroutine in Abaqus/Explicit. The capability of the model in predicting the perforation limit of the composite was investigated by developing rate-sensitive and insensitive models. The results showed that taking the strain rate into account leads to more accurate predictions of the perforation limit and damage morphology of the laminate subjected to impacts at different energies. The experimental penetration threshold of 89 J was estimated as 79 J by the strain-rate-sensitive models, which was more accurate compared to 52 J predicted by the strain-rate-insensitive model. Additionally, the coupling between interlaminar and intralaminar failure modes in the models led to a more accurate prediction of the delamination area when considering the rate sensitivity

Evaluation of flow-mesh influence in resin injection processes

Liquid molding is a versatile composite family of processes largely used in naval and automotive industries. In these processes, a polymeric resin is forced through a mold cavity previously filled with a reinforcement medium. In several cases, the impregnation stage may be too long and, to avoid that a flow-mesh (FM) may be placed over the reinforcement. This FM has very high permeability and high porosity, thus the resin first advances inside it and then impregnates the reinforcement medium. The FM commonly covers the entire reinforcement medium, however this may not the best solution for all situations, since it may produce an irregular resin flow front inside the mold cavity, resulting in void formation or waste of resin. This work performs a study on the most suitable FM length, in relation to the mold length, for rectilinear injections. Main goal is to produce a data set to determine FM length based on mold thickness and in-plane to transverse permeability ratio (ψ=Kxx/Kzz). Results have shown that for common industrial application, where ψ∼10, mold length must be 2.5 times as long as the FM for thick reinforcements. Moreover, for more extreme cases, with ψ∼1000, this value may reach 25

The Influence of Density on the Mechanical Response of Reinforced High-Density Polyurethane Foams: A Statistical Approach

In this work, rigid polyurethane foams (RPUF) reinforced by micro fibrillated cellulose (MFC) were manufactured using the free rising method and also under confinement inside a closed mould, aiming to increase apparent density and improve mechanical response. Neat RPUF were also manufactured for comparison. The mechanical response, evaluated by compression (following ASTM D1621 standard) tests were correlated with the final composite apparent density (evaluated following ASTM D1622 standard). Simple linear regression statistical models, based on F-test, were developed using stat graphics software, aiming to understand and correlate the increment in density and its influence on the improvement in mechanical response. Different models were developed to describe the foam behavior. The main results show a more significant influence of the density on strength than stiffness for the neat RPUF, unlike the MFC-reinforced RPUF, which presented an opposite response. These effects could be caused by the lower content of voids when the foams were produced under confinement, and by the greater crosslink density, when MFC was added

Experimental and numerical study of the influence of pre-existing impact damage on the low-velocity impact response of CFRP panels

This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation on the influence of preexisting impact damage on the low-velocity impact response of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). A continuum damage mechanics-based material model was developed by defining a userdefined material model in Abaqus/Explicit. The model employed the action plane strength of Puck for the damage initiation criterion together with a strain-based progressive damage model. Initial finite element simulations at the single-element level demonstrated the validity and capability of the damage model. More complex models were used to simulate tensile specimens, coupon specimens, and skin panels subjected to low-velocity impacts, being validated against experimental data at each stage. The effect of non-central impact location showed higher impact peak forces and bigger damage areas for impacts closer to panel boundaries. The presence of pre-existing damage close to the impact region leading to interfering delamination areas produced severe changes in the mechanical response, lowering the impact resistance on the panel for the second impact, while for noninterfering impacts, the results of the second impact were similar to the impact of a pristine specimen

Modeling of the resin transfer molding process including viscosity dependence with time and temperature

Flow behavior inside the mold cavity of liquid molding processes such as resin transfer molding (RTM) is important information that is necessary to determine filling time and void formation. Most of the studies found in the literature use isothermal models with Newtonian fluids and constant viscosities. However, for some specific applications, the mold filling time dependence on temperature and the viscosity dependence on time and temperature must be considered to precisely predict the flow advance inside the mold. In this study, a viscosity model, that accounts for temperature and time dependence is coupled with a standard computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to simulate the resin advance inside an RTM mold cavity. The model is simpler than similar methods that describe viscosity as a function of temperature and resin conversion. Nevertheless, the results show that the proposed model is capable of calculating flow advance, air and resin temperatures, and viscosity changes with time and temperature as expected in actual RTM and correlated processing of thick parts or with low injection pressure or high fiber content