• Composites Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.98-104
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• 2012

In recent years, degenerative spinal instability has been effectively treated with a cage. However, little attention is focused on the stiffness of the cage. Recent advances in the medical implant industry have resulted in the use of medical carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) cages. The biomechanical advantages of using different cage material in terms of stability and stresses in bone graft are not fully understood. A previously validated three-dimensional, nonlinear finite element model of an intact L2-L5 segment was modified to simulate posterior interbody fusion cages made of CFRP and titanium at the L4-L5 disc with pedicle screw, to investigate the effect of cage stiffness on the biomechanics of the fused segment in the lumbar region. From the results, it could be found that the use of a CFRP cage would not only reduce stress shielding, but it might also have led to increased bony fusion.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.43 no.10
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• pp.928-935
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• 2015

This paper presents low temperature structural tests of a UAV wing which has room temperature-curing adhesive bond. The wing structure is made of carbon fiber reinforced composites, and the skins are bonded to the inner structures (such as ribs and spars) using room temperature-curing adhesive bond. Also, to verify damage tolerance design of the wing structure, barely visible impact damages are intentionally created in the critical areas. The attachment fittings of the wing are fixed in a specially designed chamber which can simulate the low temperature environments of the operating altitudes. The test load is applied by hydraulic actuators which are placed outside the chamber. The structural tests consist of strain survey tests and a durability test for 1-life fatigue load spectrum. During the tests, strains of major parts are measured by strain gauges and FBG sensors. The change of the initial impact damages is also monitored using piezoelectric sensors. The 1-life damage tolerance of the composite structure is verified by the structural tests under the simulated environments.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.186-191
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• 2021

The lumbar spinal fusion is a treatment performed to restore the stability of the degenerated lumbar. In this study, the intervertebral discs between two or more segments are removed and a bone graft is inserted to harden the segments. The pedicle screw system is inserted to vertebral bodies to fix two or more segments so that they can be firmly fused. In this study, a total of 7 patient-specific lumbar finite element models were created and pedicle screw systems were installed. The connecting rods made of titanium and CFR-PEEK was inserted to the generated models. Finite element analysis was conducted for four representative spine behaviors and statistical analysis was performed to investigate the biomechanical effects by the material properties of connecting rods. The intradiscal pressure of adjacent segments and the range of motion of the joints of each segment were investigated. In the subjects who used CFR-PEEK instead of Ti for connecting rods, the intradiscal pressure of adjacent segments tend to decrease and the range of motion of each segment tend to increase. However, no statistically significant difference in tendency was observed under all loading conditions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.899-916
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• 2015

Upgrading or strengthening of existing reinforced concrete (RC) infrastructure is an emerging demand nowadays. Near Surface Mounted (NSM) technique is very promising approach for flexural strengthening of RC members. However, premature failure such as concrete cover separation failure have been a main concern in utilizing this technique. In this study, U-wrap end anchorage with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) fabrics is proposed to eliminate the concrete cover separation failure. Experimental programs were conducted to the consequence of U-wrap end anchorage on the flexurally strengthened RC beams with NSM-steel. A total of eight RC rectangular beam specimens were tested. One specimen was kept unstrengthened as a reference; three specimens were strengthened with NSM-steel bars and the remaining four specimens were strengthened with NSM-steel bars and U-wrap end anchorage using CFRP fabrics. A 3D non-linear finite element model (FEM) was developed to simulate the flexural response of the tested specimens. It is revealed that NSM-steel (with and without end-anchors) significantly improved the flexural strength; moreover decreased deflection and strains compared with reference specimen. Furthermore, NSM-steel with end anchorage strengthened specimens revealed the greater flexural strength and improve failure modes (premature to flexure) compared with the NSM-steel without end anchorage specimens. The results also ensured that the U-wrap end anchorage completely eliminate the concrete cover separation failure.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.174-179
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• 2021

Currently, fluid transfer steel pipes take a lot of time and expense to maintain all facilities due to new construction and painting or corrosion and aging. Therefore, this study was conducted for designing a CFRP pipe structure with high corrosion resistance and chemical resistance as a substitute for steel pipes. The helical/hoop pattern was cross-laminated to improve durability, and HNT was added to suppress the moisture absorption phenomenon of the epoxy. The HNT/CFRP pipe was manufactured by a filament winding process, and performed a mechanical property test, and a moisture absorption test in distilled water at 70℃. As a result, the highest bending strength was obtained when the hoop pattern was laminated with a thickness equivalent to 0.6% of the pipe. The 0.5 wt% HNT specimen had the highest moisture absorption resistance. Also, the delamination phenomenon at the interlayer interface was delayed, resulting in the lowest strength reduction rate.

• Composites Research
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.296-301
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• 2020

Laminated composite materials have excellent in-plane properties, but are vulnerable in thickness directions, making it easy to delamination when bending and torsion loads are applied. Thickness directional reinforcement methods of composite materials that delay delamination include Z-pinning, Stitching, Tufting, etc., and typically Z-pinning and Stitching method are commonly used. The Z-pinning is reinforcement method by inserting metal or carbon pin in the thickness direction of prepreg, and the conventional stitching process is a method of reinforcing the mechanical properties in the thickness direction by intersecting the upper and lower fibers on the preform. In this paper, I-fiber stitching method, which complement and improve weakness of Z-pinning and Stitching method, was proposed, and the static strength of composite single-lap joints using I-fiber stitching process were evaluated. The single-lap joints were fabricated by a co-curing method using an autoclave vacuum bag process. The thickness of the composite adherend was fixed, and 5 types of specimens were manufactured with varying the stitching pattern (5×5, 7×7) and angle (0°, 45°). From the test, the failure load of the specimen reinforced by the I-fiber stitching process was increased by up to 143% compared to that of specimen without reinforcement.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.101-107
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• 2021

Composite structures have components and joints. Theses connections or joints can be potentially weak points in the structure. The failure mode of the composite bolted joint is designed as a bearing failure mode for structural safety. The load-displacement relation exhibits bearing failure mode shows a nonlinear behavior after the initial failure and progressive failure behavior. In order to accurately predict the failure behavior of composite bolted joints, this study modified the shear damage variable calculation process in the existing progressive failure analysis model. The results of the bearing stress-bearing strain of the composite bolted joint were predicted using the modified progressive failure analysis model, and the modified model was verified through comparison with the previous progressive analysis model.

• Composites Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2015

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current trends of composite applications in the marine and leisure fields and to study the development of 33ft class America's cup training CFRP sailing yacht. In the field of marine and leisure, composite materials have been just used to marine and leisure structures, recently. Especially, since the America's cup of sailing yacht racing has required the light weight and high mechanical performance to make a high speed, CFRP have been recognized as the critical material to construct the racing yacht structures. To establish the process of CFRP racing yacht construction, the design optimizations and production methods of carbon mast and CFRP yacht hull were discussed in this paper. Finally, the constructed CFRP sailing yacht exhibited high performance as the racing yacht through the sailing test.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.88-95
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• 2020

Currently, Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) composite materials are used in many industrial fields, owing to their superior stiffness and specific strength compared to metals. However, there are issues with FRP inefficiency, due to low productivity of such materials, environmental problems they pose and long curing times needed. Trying to address these issues, research was conducted towards the development of a FRP composite material with excellent properties and short production time, introducing a curing method using a UV lamp. Four types of composite materials were prepared, cured with catalyst or UV (CZ: Catalyst + ZNT 6345, CR: Catalyst + RF 1001 MV, UVZ: Photoinitiator + ZNT 6345, and UVR: Photoinitiator + RF 1001 MV). Examination of the chemical and mechanical properties of these composites showed that UV-cured materials performed better than the catalyst-cured ones. These results indicate that the production process of FRP composite materials can be simplified by using a UV lamp for curing, resulting in composite materials with the same quality, but reduced production time by about 70% compared to currently used practices. This advancement will contribute greatly to the composite material industry.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.497-502
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• 2013

In this study, the interlaminar fracture toughness in mode I of a hybrid composite inserted with different types of non-woven tissues was determined. The interlaminar fracture toughness in mode I is obtained by a double cantilever beam test. The experiment is performed using three types of non-woven tissues: 8 $g/m^2$ of carbon tissue, 10 $g/m^2$ of glass tissue, and 8 $g/m^2$ of polyester tissue. Considering a specimen with no non-woven tissue as a reference, the interlaminar fracture toughness in mode I of specimens inserted with non-woven carbon and glass tissues decreases by as much as 6.3% and 11.4%, respectively. However, the fracture toughness of a hybrid composite specimen inserted with non-woven polyester tissue increases by as much as 69.4%. It is considered that the specimen inserted with non-woven polyester tissue becomes cheaper, and lighter, and the value of the fracture toughness becomes much greater than that of the non-woven carbon tissue.