• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.15-28
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• 2016

Although the aircraft industry was the first to use fibre composites, now they are increasingly used in a range of structural applications such as flooring, decking, platforms and roofs. Interlayer delamination is a major failure mode which threatens the reliability of composite structures. Delamination can grow in size under increasing loads with time and hence leads to severe loss of structural integrity and stiffness reduction. Delamination reduces the natural frequency and as a consequence may result in resonance. Hence, the study of the effects of delamination on the free vibration behaviour of multilayer composite structures is imperative. The focus of this paper is to develop a 3D FE model and investigate the free vibration behaviour of fibre composite multilayer sandwich panels with interlayer delaminations. A series of parametric studies are conducted to assess the influence of various parameters of concern, using a commercially available finite element package. Additionally, selected points in the delaminated region are connected appropriately to simulate bolting as a remedial measure to fasten the delamination region in the aim of reducing the effects of delamination. First order shear deformation theory based plate elements have been used to model each sandwich layer. The findings suggest that the delamination size and the end fixity of the plate are the most important factors responsible for stiffness reduction due to delamination damage in composite laminates. It is also revealed that bolting the delaminated region can significantly reduce the natural frequency variation due to delamination thereby improving the dynamic performance.

• Composites Research
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.104-111
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• 2015

In this work, a structural design on 500W class horizontal axis wind turbine blade using natural-fibre composite is performed. The structural design result of flax composite blade is compared with the result of glass composite blade. The structural design of the wind turbine blade is carried out using the simplified methods such as the netting rule and the rule of mixture. The structural safety of the designed blade structure is investigated through the various load cases, stress, deformation and buckling analyses using the commercial FEM. The structural test of the manufactured prototype blade was performed to confirm the structural analysis results including strains, natural frequencies and deformations. According to the comparison results, it was confirmed that the analysis results are well agreed with the experimental results.

• Composites Research
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.328-335
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to develop fiber reinforced cement matrix composite (ECC) produced with limestone powder in order to achieve high ductility of the composite, and to evaluate flexural performance of structural members made with ECC. Four kinds of mixture proportions were determined on the basis of the micromechanics and a steady state cracking theory considering the matrix fracture toughness and fiber-matrix interfacial characteristics. The mechanical properties of ECC, represented by strain-hardening behavior in uniaxial tension, were investigated. Also, strength property of the composite was experimentally evaluated. Two structural members made with ECC were produced and tested. Test results were compared with those of conventional concrete structural members. Increased limestone powder contents of ECC provides higher ductility of the composites while generally resulting in a lower strength property. ECC structural members exhibited higher flexural ductility, higher flexural load-carrying capacity and tighter crack width compared to conventional structural members.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.118-125
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• 2013

The synthetic fibers including Polyvinyl alcohol and Polyethylene fibers have been successfully used in the manufacture of high ductile fiber reinforced cementitious composites. Polypropylene (PP) fiber has also been used in composites, not for the purpose of achieving a high level of tensile ductility but to improve the fire resistance performance of concrete exposed to high temperatures. This paper discusses the method for enhancing the performance of composites supplemented with PP fiber. Five types of mixture proportions were designed with high volume fly ash for testing the performance of composites. Type I cement and fly ash F were used as binding materials. The water-to-binder ratio was 0.23~0.25, and the amount of PP fiber used was 2 vol%. Polystyrene bead were also used to increase the tensile ductility of composites. A series of experiments including slump, density, compression and uniaxial tension tests were performed to evaluate the performance of cementitious composites supplemented with PP fiber. From the test results, it was exhibited that the performance of composites supplemented with PP fiber can be enhanced by adopting the mechanics and statistics theory.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.81-93
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• 2020

The fatigue characteristics of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites were studied under repeated loads using the finite element method (FEM). To realize the material characteristics of GFRP composites, Digimat, a mean-field homogenization tool, was employed. Additionally, the micro-structures and material models of GFRP composites were defined with it to predict the fatigue behavior of composites more realistically. Specifically, the fatigue characteristics of polybutylene terephthalate with short fiber fractions of 30wt% were investigated with respect to fiber orientation, stress ratio, and thickness. The injection analysis was conducted using Moldflow software to obtain the information on fiber orientations. It was mapped over FEM concerned with fatigue specimens. LS-DYNA, a typical finite element commercial software, was used in the coupled analysis of Digimat to calculate the stress amplitude of composites. FEMFAT software consisting of various numerical material models was used to predict the fatigue life. The results of coupled analysis of linear and nonlinear material models of Digimat were analyzed to identify the fatigue characteristics of GFRP composites using FEMFAT. Neuber's rule was applied to the linear material model to analyze the fatigue behavior in LCF regimen. Additionally, to evaluate the morphological and mechanical structure of GFRP composites, the coupled and fatigue analysis were conducted in terms of thickness.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.287-294
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• 2012

Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) represent a class of non-brittle refractory materials for harsh and extreme environments in aerospace and other applications. The quasi-ductility of these structural materials depends on the quality of the interface between the matrix and the fiber surface. In this study, a manufacture route is described where in contrast to most other processes no additional fiber coating is used to adjust the fiber/matrix interfaces in order to obtain damage tolerance and fracture toughness. Adapted microstructures of uncoated carbon fiber preforms were developed to permit the rapid infiltration of molten alloys and the subsequent reaction with the carbon matrix. Furthermore, any direct reaction between the melt and fibers was minimized. Using pure silicon as the reactive melt, C/SiC composites were manufactured with an aim of employing the resulting composite for friction applications. This paper describes the formation of the microstructure inside the C/C preform and resulting C/C-SiC composite, in addition to the MAX phases.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.190-194
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• 2003

Two different types of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques were employed to investigate the tensile behavior of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs). Two NDE methods, ultrasonic testing (UT) and infrared (IR) thermography, were used to assess defects and/or damage evolution before and during mechanical testing. Prior to tensile testing, a UTC-scan and a xenon flash method were performed to obtain initial defect information in light of UT C-scans and thermal diffusivity maps, respectively. An IR camera was used for in-situ monitoring of progressive damages. The IR camera measured temperature changes during tensile testing. This paper has presented the feasibility of using NDE techniques to interpret structural performance of CMCs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.28-37
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• 2019

Due to their flexible tailoring qualities, composites have become fascinating materials for structural engineers. While the research area of fiber-reinforced composite materials was previously limited to synthetic materials, natural fibers have recently become the primary research focus as the best alternative to artificial fibers. The natural fibers are eco-friendly and relatively cheaper than synthetic fibers. The main concern of current research into natural fiber-reinforced composites is the prediction and enhancement of the effective material properties. In the present work, finite element analysis is used with a numerical homogenization approach to determine the effective material properties of jute fiber-reinforced epoxy composites with various volume fractions of fiber. The finite element analysis results for the jute fiber-reinforced epoxy composite are then compared with several well-known analytical models.

• KCI Concrete Journal
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.65-77
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• 1999

A portland cement was reinforced by incorporating carbon fiber(CF), silica powder, and impregnating the pores with styrene monomers which were polymerized in situ. The effects of type, length, and volume loading of CF, mixing conditions, curing time and, curing conditions on mechanical behavior as well as freeze-thaw resistance and longer term stability of the carbon-fiber reinforced cement composites (CFRC) were investigated. The composite Paste exhibited a decrease in flow values linearly as the CF volume loadings increased. Tensile, compressive, and flexural strengths all generally increased as the CF loadings in the composite increased. Compressive strength decreased at CF loadings above approx. 3% in CFRC having no impregnated polymers due to the increase in porosity caused by the fibers. However, the polymer impregnation of CFRC improved all the strength values as compared with CFRC having no Polymer impregnation. Tensile stress-strain curves showed that polymer impregnation decreased the fracture energy of CFRC. Polymer impregnation clearly showed improvements in freeze-thaw resistance and drying shrinkage when compared with CFRC having no impregnated polymers.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.1-6
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• 2010

Since the fiber reinforced polymeric (FRP) composites are considered in next generation of space transportation systems, reliable thermal expansion properties should be well provided for structural design of composite materials. To obtain accurate mechanical behaviors at a cryogenic temperature, precise strain measurement and calibration must be provided. In this work, apparent strains (or thermal output) of temperature self-compensated strain gages were deliberately investigated for epoxy, CTBN modified epoxy and carbon fabric composite system from room temperature to liquid nitrogen temperature. Also, fourth-order thermal output curves were presented for the further calibration. The results showed that the thermal output is heavily dependent on test materials and a large amount of apparent strains were observed for the polymer resins.