Materials

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18 pages, 2974 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Wear Conditions, Parameters and Sliding Motions on Tribological Characteristics of Basalt and Glass Fibre Reinforced Epoxy Composites

by Anis Adilah Abu Talib, Aidah Jumahat, Mohammad Jawaid, Napisah Sapiai and Alcides Lopes Leao

Materials 2021, 14(3), 701; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14030701 - 02 Feb 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2662

Abstract

Basalt fibre is a promising mineral fibre that has high potential to replace synthetic based glass fibre in today’s stringent environmental concern. In this study, friction and wear characteristics of glass and basalt fibres reinforced epoxy composites were studied and comparatively evaluated at [...] Read more.

Basalt fibre is a promising mineral fibre that has high potential to replace synthetic based glass fibre in today’s stringent environmental concern. In this study, friction and wear characteristics of glass and basalt fibres reinforced epoxy composites were studied and comparatively evaluated at two test stages. The first stage was conducted at fixed load, speed and distance under three different conditions; adhesive, abrasive and erosive wear, wherein each composite specimens slide against steel, silicon carbide, and sand mixtures, respectively. The second stage was conducted involving different types of adhesive sliding motions against steel counterpart; unidirectional and reciprocating motion, with the former varied at pressure—velocity (PV) factor; 0.23 MPa·m/s and 0.93 MPa·m/s, while the latter varied at counterpart’s configuration; ball-on-flat (B-O-F) and cylinder-on-flat (C-O-F). It was found that friction and wear properties of composites are highly dependent on test conditions. Under 10 km test run, Basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) composite has better wear resistance against erosive sand compared to Glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite. In second stage, BFRP composite showed better wear performance than GFRP composite under high PV of unidirectional sliding test and under B-O-F configuration of reciprocating sliding test. BFRP composite also exhibited better friction properties than GFRP composite under C-O-F configuration, although its specific wear rate was lower. In scanning electron microscopy examination, different types of wear mechanisms were revealed in each of the test conducted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled and Sustainable Materials in Composite Design)

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15 pages, 5211 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Resizing Approach to Increase the Viability of Recycled Fibre-Reinforced Composites

by Vsevolod Matrenichev, Maria Clara Lessa Belone, Sarianna Palola, Pekka Laurikainen and Essi Sarlin

Materials 2020, 13(24), 5773; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13245773 - 17 Dec 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2228

Abstract

Most recycling methods remove the essential sizing from reinforcing fibres, and many studies indicate the importance of applying sizing on recycled fibres, a process we will denote here as resizing. Recycled fibres are not continuous, which dissociates their sizing and composite lay-up processes [...] Read more.

Most recycling methods remove the essential sizing from reinforcing fibres, and many studies indicate the importance of applying sizing on recycled fibres, a process we will denote here as resizing. Recycled fibres are not continuous, which dissociates their sizing and composite lay-up processes from virgin fibres. In this study, commercial polypropylene and polyurethane-based sizing formulations with an aminosilane coupling agent were used to resize recycled glass and carbon fibres. The impact of sizing concentration and batch process variables on the tensile properties of fibre-reinforced polypropylene and polyamide composites were investigated. Resized fibres were characterized with thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy and electron microscopy, and the tensile properties of the composites were analysed to confirm the achievable level of performance. For glass fibres, an optimal mass fraction of sizing on the fibres was found, as an excess amount of film former has a plasticising effect. For recycled carbon fibres, the sizing had little effect on the mechanical properties but led to significant improvement of handling and post-processing properties. A comparison between experimental results and theoretical prediction using the Halpin-Tsai model showed up to 81% reinforcing efficiency for glass fibres and up to 74% for carbon fibres. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled and Sustainable Materials in Composite Design)

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16 pages, 2986 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Additive Re-Manufacturing of Mechanically Recycled End-of-Life Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymers for Value-Added Circular Design

by Alessia Romani, Andrea Mantelli, Raffaella Suriano, Marinella Levi and Stefano Turri

Materials 2020, 13(16), 3545; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13163545 - 11 Aug 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3479

Abstract

Despite the large use of composites for industrial applications, their end-of-life management is still an open issue for manufacturing, especially in the wind energy sector. Additive manufacturing technology has been emerging as a solution, enhancing circular economy models, and using recycled composites for [...] Read more.

Despite the large use of composites for industrial applications, their end-of-life management is still an open issue for manufacturing, especially in the wind energy sector. Additive manufacturing technology has been emerging as a solution, enhancing circular economy models, and using recycled composites for glass fiber-reinforced polymers is spreading as a new additive manufacturing trend. Nevertheless, their mechanical properties are still not comparable to pristine materials. The purpose of this paper is to examine the additive re-manufacturing of end-of-life glass fiber composites with mechanical performances that are comparable to virgin glass fiber-reinforced materials. Through a systematic characterization of the recyclate, requirements of the filler for the liquid deposition modeling process were identified. Printability and material surface quality of different formulations were analyzed using a low-cost modified 3D printer. Two hypothetical design concepts were also manufactured to validate the field of application. Furthermore, an understanding of the mechanical behavior was accomplished by means of tensile tests, and the results were compared with a benchmark formulation with virgin glass fibers. Mechanically recycled glass fibers show the capability to substitute pristine fillers, unlocking their use for new fields of application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled and Sustainable Materials in Composite Design)

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14 pages, 1765 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using In Situ Polymerization to Increase Puncture Resistance and Induce Reversible Formability in Silk Membranes

by Nicholas S. Emonson, Daniel J. Eyckens, Benjamin J. Allardyce, Andreas Hendlmeier, Melissa K. Stanfield, Lachlan C. Soulsby, Filip Stojcevski and Luke C. Henderson

Materials 2020, 13(10), 2252; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13102252 - 14 May 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2354

Abstract

Silk fibroin is an excellent biopolymer for application in a variety of areas, such as textiles, medicine, composites and as a novel material for additive manufacturing. In this work, silk membranes were surface modified by in situ polymerization of aqueous acrylic acid, initiated [...] Read more.

Silk fibroin is an excellent biopolymer for application in a variety of areas, such as textiles, medicine, composites and as a novel material for additive manufacturing. In this work, silk membranes were surface modified by in situ polymerization of aqueous acrylic acid, initiated by the reduction of various aryldiazonium salts with vitamin C. Treatment times of 20 min gave membranes which possessed increased tensile strength, tensile modulus, and showed significant increased resistance to needle puncture (+131%), relative to ‘untreated’ standards. Most interestingly, the treated silk membranes were able to be reversibly formed into various shapes via the hydration and plasticizing of the surface bound poly(acrylic acid), by simply steaming the modified membranes. These membranes and their unique properties have potential applications in advanced textiles, and as medical materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled and Sustainable Materials in Composite Design)

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17 pages, 1295 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterisation of Natural Fibres for Sustainable Discontinuous Fibre Composite Materials

by Ali Kandemir, Thomas R. Pozegic, Ian Hamerton, Stephen J. Eichhorn and Marco L. Longana

Materials 2020, 13(9), 2129; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13092129 - 04 May 2020

Cited by 52 | Viewed by 4597

Abstract

Growing environmental concerns and stringent waste-flow regulations make the development of sustainable composites a current industrial necessity. Natural fibre reinforcements are derived from renewable resources and are both cheap and biodegradable. When they are produced using eco-friendly, low hazard processes, then they can [...] Read more.

Growing environmental concerns and stringent waste-flow regulations make the development of sustainable composites a current industrial necessity. Natural fibre reinforcements are derived from renewable resources and are both cheap and biodegradable. When they are produced using eco-friendly, low hazard processes, then they can be considered as a sustainable source of fibrous reinforcement. Furthermore, their specific mechanical properties are comparable to commonly used, non-environmentally friendly glass-fibres. In this study, four types of abundant natural fibres (jute, kenaf, curaua, and flax) are investigated as naturally-derived constituents for high performance composites. Physical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the natural fibres are examined to evaluate their suitability as discontinuous reinforcements whilst also generating a database for material selection. Single fibre tensile and microbond tests were performed to obtain stiffness, strength, elongation, and interfacial shear strength of the fibres with an epoxy resin. Moreover, the critical fibre lengths of the natural fibres, which are important for defining the mechanical performances of discontinuous and short fibre composites, were calculated for the purpose of possible processing of highly aligned discontinuous fibres. This study is informative regarding the selection of the type and length of natural fibres for the subsequent production of discontinuous fibre composites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled and Sustainable Materials in Composite Design)

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16 pages, 3678 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improving Dispersion of Recycled Discontinuous Carbon Fibres to Increase Fibre Throughput in the HiPerDiF Process

by Thomas R. Pozegic, Samantha Huntley, Marco L. Longana, Suihua He, R. M. Indrachapa Bandara, Simon G. King and Ian Hamerton

Materials 2020, 13(7), 1544; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13071544 - 27 Mar 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3350

Abstract

In order to increase the material throughput of aligned discontinuous fibre composites using technologies such as HiPerDiF, stability of the carbon fibres in an aqueous solution needs to be achieved. Subsequently, a range of surfactants, typically employed to disperse carbon-based materials, have been [...] Read more.

In order to increase the material throughput of aligned discontinuous fibre composites using technologies such as HiPerDiF, stability of the carbon fibres in an aqueous solution needs to be achieved. Subsequently, a range of surfactants, typically employed to disperse carbon-based materials, have been assessed to determine the most appropriate for use in this regard. The optimum stability of the discontinuous fibres was observed when using the anionic surfactant, sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate, which was superior to a range of other non-ionic and anionic surfactants, and single-fibre fragmentation demonstrated that the employment of sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate did not affect the interfacial adhesion between fibres. Rheometry was used to complement the study, to understand the potential mechanisms of the improved stability of discontinuous fibres in aqueous suspension, and it led to the understanding that the increased viscosity was a significant factor. For the shear rates employed, fibre deformation was neither expected nor observed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled and Sustainable Materials in Composite Design)

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15 pages, 5135 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Design of Recycled Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Rubber Modified Epoxy Based Composites Reinforced with Alumina Fiber: Fracture Behavior and Damage Analyses

by Alaeddin Burak Irez, Georges Zambelis and Emin Bayraktar

Materials 2019, 12(17), 2729; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12172729 - 26 Aug 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2616

Abstract

This study proposes a new design of lightweight and cost-efficient composite materials for the automotive industry using recycled fresh scrap rubbers (EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubbers), epoxy resin and alumina (Al₂O₃) fibers (AF). Three-point bending tests were conducted [...] Read more.

This study proposes a new design of lightweight and cost-efficient composite materials for the automotive industry using recycled fresh scrap rubbers (EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubbers), epoxy resin and alumina (Al₂O₃) fibers (AF). Three-point bending tests were conducted to investigate fundamental mechanical characteristics and then experimentally obtained moduli were compared with a modified Halpin–Tsai model. In addition, tests were carried out to study the fracture characteristics of the composites. Then, a practical numerical study was carried out to observe the evolution of the strain energy release rate along the crack front. Mechanical test results showed that the reinforcement with AF improved the fracture toughness of these novel composites for low rubber contents. Besides, increasing recycled EPDM rubber content degraded the mechanical resistance and strain at break of the composites. Moreover, numerical studies indicated that energy release rate showed some variations along the specimen thickness. Toughening mechanisms were evaluated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) fractography. Typical toughening mechanisms observed were fiber bridging and shear yielding. By considering the advantageous effects of AF on the novel composites and cost efficiency under favor of recycled rubbers, these composites are promising candidates to manufacture the various components in automotive industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled and Sustainable Materials in Composite Design)

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19 pages, 5072 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preliminary Characterization of Novel LDPE-Based Wear-Resistant Composite Suitable for FDM 3D Printing

by Piotr Olesik, Marcin Godzierz and Mateusz Kozioł

Materials 2019, 12(16), 2520; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12162520 - 08 Aug 2019

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4357

Abstract

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites reinforced with finely powdered waste glass were identified as a potential material for 3D printed structures for use in low-duty frictional applications. A recently published 3D printing model was used to calculate the limits in the filament feed rate [...] Read more.

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites reinforced with finely powdered waste glass were identified as a potential material for 3D printed structures for use in low-duty frictional applications. A recently published 3D printing model was used to calculate the limits in the filament feed rate and printing speed. Tribological tests (pin-on-disc method) of the printed composites were performed for different print-path directions. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was performed on the samples and the composites showed a higher crystallinity compared with LDPE, which partially explains the higher elastic modulus of the composites determined during static tensile tests. Using a fine glass powder as reinforcement improved the wear resistance of LDPE by 50% due to the formation of a sliding film on the sample’s surface. An evident effect of friction direction vs. the printed path direction on wear was found; which was likely related to differences in the removal of friction products from the friction area for different print-path directions. The LDPE composites with fine waste glass particles are promising materials for low-duty frictional applications and should be the subject of further research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled and Sustainable Materials in Composite Design)

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