Effect of Hybridization and Ply Waviness on the Flexural Strength of Polymer Composites: An Experimental and Numerical Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Experimental Methodology
2.1. Materials and Design of Experiments
2.2. Fabrication of Fibre/Resin Laminate Composites and the Flexural Test
2.3. Determination of Ductility of Specimens Subjected to Flexural Loading
2.4. Numerical Analysis of the Flexural Behaviour of All the Architectures Currently Studied
- The composite plies were modelled using 4 Node Shell formulation, available in the LS DYNA Shape Mesher library. The mesh size (mesh type: square) was kept constant at 1 mm throughout the modelling. The size of the specimens was as per the ISO standard mentioned in Section 3.2. The number of layers in the model is as per Table 1. Regarding the boundary conditions, the specimens were constrained as a pin and roller [54] support. This implies a completely constrained motion in the z-direction and free in the y-direction (along the width), while in the x-direction (along the length), the specimens were fixed at one end and were allowed a translation motion at the other end.
- On defining the loading conditions, initially, a set of nodes on which the load would be applied were defined using the Boundary_SPC_SET option. Later, the loading curve was defined based on the actual experimental loading conditions, and the curve was assigned to the nodes through the option Boundary_Prescribed_Motion_Set.
- The composite failure was modelled using the material model MAT 54, which is a progressive failure model that uses the Chang–Chang failure criterion [55]. The model takes in 21 parameters that should be defined, 15 of which are physically based and 6 of which are numerical parameters. Among the 15 physical parameters, 10 are material constants; these are elaborated in Table 2. The remaining 5 parameters are tensile and compressive failure strain in fibre directions, the matrix and shear failure strains, and the effective failure strain. The 6numerical parameters were set at their default values. By conducting a parametric, study it was inferred that only DFAILT and DFAILM (DFAILT-Max strain for fibre tension, DFAILM-Max strain for matrix straining in tension and compression) needed to be adjusted. These terms and their explanations can be found in [51]. Adjusting the above two parameters helps simulate the tension/compression within the matrix between layers and the tension of fibres along the bottom of the specimen [51].
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Flexural Characteristics of Composite Specimens: Pure, Hybrid, and with Waviness
3.2. Energy Absorption and Estimation of Ductility Index of Samples under Flexure
3.3. Analysis of Damage in the Composite Architecture Subjected to External Loading
3.3.1. Epoxy Resin
3.3.2. PMMA Resin
3.4. Numerical Results
Sensitivity of the Model to Different Modelling Parameters
4. Conclusions
- -
- PMMA was found to have similar flexural strength to that of epoxy, though the flexural modulus was found to be lower. Hybridising the architecture did not alter the modulus, but a drop in strength was observed in the case of epoxy specimens. In the case of PMMA, hybridisation increased the modulus, but the increase was not significant, and the strength did not change significantly. Thus, from a strength perspective, PMMA could be a good alternative for epoxy, thus making composites more recyclable.
- -
- The presence of waviness was found to be detrimental in both epoxy and PMMA specimens; in the case of the former, there was severe reduction in strength and modulus. However, the presence of in-plane waviness was found to increase the load significantly; thus, waviness could have some positive effects on composites.
- -
- Hybridisation introduces ductility into composites, and this can be quantified using an energy-based model. Thus, it was observed that hybridised specimens (T2 and T6) exhibited higher ductility when compared to their purer counterparts. A level of 60% ductility was seen in T2 and T6, while in T1 and T5, it was abysmally low.
- -
- The hybrid effect was further studied using an optical microscope, and it was observed that the carbon fabric was still intact, without failure. The hybrid effect was introduced by a controlled failure of first the glass fabrics and subsequently the carbon. Bending–stiffness mismatch was another reason for this observation, though this must be studied further using the classical laminate theory.
- -
- Numerical models were built on LS DYNA using the material model MAT 54, available in the LS DYNA MAT library. The modelling approach selected was found to predict the flexural behaviour similar to experiments. Tensile strain-to-failure (DFAILT) and matrix strain-to-failure (DFAILM) was seen to influence the modelling outcome proportionately, and hence a parametric study was conducted to establish the correct values of DFAILT and DFAILM.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Specimen Code | Symbol | Architecture | Fabric | Fibre Orientation | Resin |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
T-1 | Glass Carbon | Glass | Uni-directional | Epoxy | |
T-2 | Glass and Carbon | Uni-directional | Epoxy | ||
T-3/T-9 | Glass | Uni-directional | Epoxy | ||
T-4/T-10 | Glass | Uni-directional | Epoxy | ||
T-5 | Glass | Uni-directional | PMMA | ||
T-6 | Glass and Carbon | Uni-directional | PMMA | ||
T-7 | Glass | Uni-directional | PMMA | ||
T-8 | Glass | Uni-directional | PMMA |
Resin Material | Property | Value | Units |
---|---|---|---|
Epoxy (Bisphenol A) | Viscosity at 25 °C | 710 | mPas |
Density at 25 °C | 1.15 | g/cm3 | |
Epoxy (Bisphenol A) | Viscosity at 25 °C | 14 | mPas |
Density at 25 °C | 0.94 | g/cm3 | |
PMMA | Viscosity at 20 °C | 500 | mPas |
Density at 20 °C | 1 | g/cm3 |
Resin Type | E1 (GPa) | E2 (GPa) | G12/G13 (GPa) | (MPa) | (MPa) | (MPa) | (MPa) | (MPa) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Epoxy/Glass | 32.4 | 8.1 | 2.6 | 0.22 | 680 | 600 | 35 | 37 | 35 |
Epoxy/Carbon | 63 | 40 | 9 | 0.16 | 709 | 473 | 501 | 146 | 199 |
PMMA/Glass | 23.16 | 2.1 | 2.62 | 0.38 | 325 | 246 | 16 | 42 | 128 |
PMMA/Carbon | 47 | 3 | 1.8 | 0.13 | 1300 | 882 | 15 | 40 | 120 |
Specimen Code | T-1 | T-2 | T-3 | T-4 | T-5 | T-6 | T-7 | T-8 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Experimental Load (N) | 329.60 | 226.25 | 172.40 | 139.95 | 428.21 | 440.50 | 230.00 | 295.20 |
Numerical Load (N) | 341.34 | 229.78 | 165.92 | 138.38 | 439.94 | 492.21 | 205.47 | 296.44 |
Material | Young’s Modulus (GPa) | Tensile Strength (MPa) |
---|---|---|
Epoxy | 3.2 | 70 |
Glass Fabric | 81.0 | 2200 |
Parametric Study (PS) | DFAILT | DFAILM |
---|---|---|
1 | 0.033 | 0.04 |
2 | 0.048 | 0.04 |
3 | 0.009 | 0.04 |
4 | 0.1 | 0.04 |
5 | 0.033 | 0.009 |
6 | 0.033 | 0.1 |
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Subadra, S.P.; Griskevicius, P. Effect of Hybridization and Ply Waviness on the Flexural Strength of Polymer Composites: An Experimental and Numerical Study. Polymers 2022, 14, 1360. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14071360
Subadra SP, Griskevicius P. Effect of Hybridization and Ply Waviness on the Flexural Strength of Polymer Composites: An Experimental and Numerical Study. Polymers. 2022; 14(7):1360. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14071360
Chicago/Turabian StyleSubadra, Sharath P., and Paulius Griskevicius. 2022. "Effect of Hybridization and Ply Waviness on the Flexural Strength of Polymer Composites: An Experimental and Numerical Study" Polymers 14, no. 7: 1360. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14071360