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Fibre-Reinforced Composites

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2011) | Viewed by 38910

Special Issue Editor

Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Bayreuth, 95444 Bayreuth, Germany
Interests: environmentally friendly polymers; lightweight materials; functional polymers; advanced processing & testing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The light weight design potential of fibre reinforced polymer composites leads to increasing applications of these materials in various industrial sectors such as aerospace or automotive industry. Moreover, nowadays we observe the replacement of a number of conventional engineering materials thanks to the superior mass-specific mechanical performance and good processability of fibre reinforced polymers.

This potential can be further explored by combining the right components and the right processing techniques. This offers the possibility of tailoring the fibre reinforced composites performance in a very wide range, according to the respective requirements.

In this special issue the latest developments in the field of fibre reinforced polymeric composites are discussed. High performance continuous carbon-fibre reinforced thermosetting polymers as well as the mass produced and widespread short glass-fibre reinforced thermoplastics are here included. New material combinations like natural fibre reinforced polymers or continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastics are of increasing scientific interest. Furthermore novel trends related to the single components, like fibre and resin modification or textile processing techniques, e. g. performing, are covered.

But how do the processing, the single components and their interaction affect the final material`s properties? This special issue is based on the fundamental understanding of the processing-structure-properties-relationships in the field of fibre-reinforced polymers.

Prof. Dr. Volker Altstädt
Guest Editor

Keywords

  • polymer matrix composites
  • preforming
  • processing
  • mechanical properties
  • fracture mechanics
  • fatigue
  • polymer
  • morphology
  • fibre length
  • interphase

Published Papers (3 papers)

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6162 KiB  
Article
Glass Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Mechanical Properties Enhancement by Adhesion Improvement
by Mariana Etcheverry and Silvia E. Barbosa
Materials 2012, 5(6), 1084-1113; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma5061084 - 18 Jun 2012
Cited by 165 | Viewed by 23330
Abstract
Glass fibers (GF) are the reinforcement agent most used in polypropylene (PP) based composites, as they have good balance between properties and costs. However, their final properties are mainly determined by the strength and stability of the polymer-fiber interphase. Fibers do not act [...] Read more.
Glass fibers (GF) are the reinforcement agent most used in polypropylene (PP) based composites, as they have good balance between properties and costs. However, their final properties are mainly determined by the strength and stability of the polymer-fiber interphase. Fibers do not act as an effective reinforcing material when the adhesion is weak. Also, the adhesion between phases can be easily degraded in aggressive environmental conditions such as high temperatures and/or elevated moisture, and by the stress fields to which the material may be exposed. Many efforts have been done to improve polymer-glass fiber adhesion by compatibility enhancement. The most used techniques include modifications in glass surface, polymer matrix and/or both. However, the results obtained do not show a good costs/properties improvement relationship. The aim of this work is to perform an accurate analysis regarding methods for GF/PP adhesion improvement and to propose a new route based on PP in-situ polymerization onto fibers. This route involves the modification of fibers with an aluminum alkyl and hydroxy-α-olefin and from there to enable the growth of the PP chains using direct metallocenic copolymerization. The adhesion improvements were further proved by fragmentation test, as well as by mechanical properties measurements. The strength and toughness increases three times and the interfacial strength duplicates in PP/GF composites prepared with in-situ polymerized fibers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fibre-Reinforced Composites)
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2393 KiB  
Article
Novel Repair Concept for Composite Materials by Repetitive Geometrical Interlock Elements
by Werner Hufenbach, Frank Adam, Thomas Heber, Nico Weckend, Friedrich-Wilhelm Bach, Thomas Hassel and David Zaremba
Materials 2011, 4(12), 2219-2230; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma4122219 - 20 Dec 2011
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 6284
Abstract
Material adapted repair technologies for fiber-reinforced polymers with thermosetting matrix systems are currently characterized by requiring major efforts for repair preparation and accomplishment in all industrial areas of application. In order to allow for a uniform distribution of material and geometrical parameters over [...] Read more.
Material adapted repair technologies for fiber-reinforced polymers with thermosetting matrix systems are currently characterized by requiring major efforts for repair preparation and accomplishment in all industrial areas of application. In order to allow for a uniform distribution of material and geometrical parameters over the repair zone, a novel composite interlock repair concept is introduced, which is based on a repair zone with undercuts prepared by water-jet technology. The presented numerical and experimental sensitivity analyses make a contribution to the systematic development of the interlock repair technology with respect to material and geometrical factors of influence. The results show the ability of the novel concept for a reproducible and automatable composite repair. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fibre-Reinforced Composites)
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8946 KiB  
Article
Toughening of a Carbon-Fibre Composite Using Electrospun Poly(Hydroxyether of Bisphenol A) Nanofibrous Membranes Through Inverse Phase Separation and Inter-Domain Etherification
by Kevin Magniez, Thomas Chaffraix and Bronwyn Fox
Materials 2011, 4(11), 1967-1984; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma4111967 - 02 Nov 2011
Cited by 74 | Viewed by 8678
Abstract
The interlaminar toughening of a carbon fibre reinforced composite by interleaving a thin layer (~20 microns) of poly(hydroxyether of bisphenol A) (phenoxy) nanofibres was explored in this work. Nanofibres, free of defect and averaging several hundred nanometres, were produced by electrospinning directly onto [...] Read more.
The interlaminar toughening of a carbon fibre reinforced composite by interleaving a thin layer (~20 microns) of poly(hydroxyether of bisphenol A) (phenoxy) nanofibres was explored in this work. Nanofibres, free of defect and averaging several hundred nanometres, were produced by electrospinning directly onto a pre-impregnated carbon fibre material (Toray G83C) at various concentrations between 0.5 wt % and 2 wt %. During curing at 150 °C, phenoxy diffuses through the epoxy resin to form a semi interpenetrating network with an inverse phase type of morphology where the epoxy became the co-continuous phase with a nodular morphology. This type of morphology improved the fracture toughness in mode I (opening failure) and mode II (in-plane shear failure) by up to 150% and 30%, respectively. Interlaminar shear stress test results showed that the interleaving did not negatively affect the effective in-plane strength of the composites. Furthermore, there was some evidence from DMTA and FT-IR analysis to suggest that inter-domain etherification between the residual epoxide groups with the pendant hydroxyl groups of the phenoxy occurred, also leading to an increase in glass transition temperature (~7.5 °C). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fibre-Reinforced Composites)
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