• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.442-455
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• 2022

High-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) has been studied as an alternative to low-temperature PEMFC due to its fast activation of electrodes and high resistance to electrode poisoning by carbon monoxide. It is highly required to develop stable PEMs operating at high temperatures even doped by ion-conducting materials for the development of high-performance and durable HT-PEMFC systems. A number of studies have been conducted to develop polybenzimidazole (PBI)-based PEMs for applications in HT-PEMFC due to their high interaction with doped ion-conducting materials and outstanding thermomechanical stability under high-temperature operation. This review focused on the development of PBI-based PEMs showing high performance and durability. Firstly, the characteristic behavior of PBI-based PEMs doped with various ion-conducting materials including phosphoric acid was systematically investigated. And then, a comparison of the physicochemical properties of the PEMs according to the different membrane manufacturing processes was conducted. Secondly, the incorporation of porous polytetrafluoroethylene substrate and/or inorganic composites to PBI matrix to improve the membrane performances was studied. Finally, the construction of cross-linked structures into PBI-based PEM systems by polymer blending method was introduced to improve the PEM properties.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.224-233
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• 2002

This study has investigated the flame retardant properties of EPDM rubber with the addition of various flame retardants. Carbon black, stearic acid, zinc oxide cross-linking agent were mixed with EPDM rubber to produce the base rubber E0 without the addition of flame retardants. Phosphorus flame retardant Tricrecyl phosphate(TCP) was added to E0 in 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 phr to make E1~E4 samples and red phosphorus was added in 3, 6, 9, 12 phr to make E5~E8 samples. A flame retardant of the bromine family Decabromodiphenyloxide(DBDPO), and a chlorinated paraffin retardant of the chlorine family was added to E0 in 3, 6, 9, 12 phr to make E9~E12 and E13~E16 samples, repectively. Basic physical properties such as tensile strength, tear strength and hardness were measured for all the rubber samples with various flame retardant additions. There was no substantial differences. On the other hand, Oxygen index and UL94 were measured to study flame retardant properties. From oxygen index measurements E0 sample showed a value of 23.5%, indicating the improvement of flame retardant properties. Also from UL94 measurements, it was found that addition of red phosphorus resulted in maximum flame retardant effect. It was found that increasing the amount of addition resulted in decreasing combustion rate and improving flame retardant effect regardless of the kind of flame retardant.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.303-309
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• 2023

In this paper, a Progressive Damage and Failure Analysis (PDFA) modeling method was developed using ABAQUS/EXPLICIT to predict in-plane damage and delamination for Open-Hole Compression (OHC) testing. The proposed PDFA model was constructed based on Hashin criteria and cohesive behavior. The strength and stiffness of OHC specimens with three types of stacking sequences [(45/-45/0₂)₃]_s , [(45/0/-45/90)₃]_s and [45/-45/0/45/-45/90/(45/-45)₂]_s were compared to comprehensively evaluate the validity of the Finite Element(FE) model of PDFA. The strength and stiffness of the OHC specimens were predicted relatively well, with less than a percentage error 10.0 %. For the numerical simulation case for each layup, the damage initiation/evolution of OHC specimens were evaluated for delamination and tension/compression matrix damage before and after failure.

• Composites Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2024

Due to the structural characteristic of a double roller, the double roller can have various deformation behaviors depending on a gap block design, even if dimensions and loading conditions for the double roller are the same. Based on this feature, we propose a strategy for designing the gap block of the carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) double roller to minimize defects (e.g., sagging and wrinkling), which can be raised during the product conveying process, with the pursue of the lightweight design. In the suggested strategy, analysis cases are first selected by considering main design parameters and engineering tolerances of the gap block, and then deformation behaviors of these selected cases are extracted using the finite element method (FEM). Here, to obtain the optimal gap block parameters that satisfy the purpose of this study, deformation deviations in the contact area are calculated and compared using the extracted deformation behaviors. Note that the contact area in this work is located between the product and the roller. As a result, through the design method of the gap block proposed in this work, it is possible to construct the CFRP double roller that can significantly decrease the defects without changing the overall sizes of the roller. A detailed method is suggested herein, and the results are evaluated in a numerical way.

• Composites Research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.23-31
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• 2002

The two dimensional size effect of specimen gauge section ($length{\;}{\times}{\;}width$) was investigated on the compressive behavior of a T300/924 $\textrm{[}45/-45/0/90\textrm{]}_{3s}$, carbon fiber-epoxy laminate. A modified ICSTM compression test fixture was used together with an anti-buckling device to test 3mm thick specimens with a $30mm{\;}{\times}{\;}30mm,{\;}50mm{\;}{\times}{\;}50mm,{\;}70mm{\;}{\times}{\;}70mm{\;}and{\;}90mm{\;}{\times}{\;}90mm$ gauge length by width section. In all cases failure was sudden and occurred mainly within the gauge length. Post failure examination suggests that $0^{\circ}$ fiber microbuckling is the critical damage mechanism that causes final failure. This is the matrix dominated failure mode and its triggering depends very much on initial fiber waviness. It is suggested that manufacturing process and quality may play a significant role in determining the compressive strength. When the anti-buckling device was used on specimens, it was showed that the compressive strength with the device was slightly greater than that without the device due to surface friction between the specimen and the device by pretoque in bolts of the device. In the analysis result on influence of the anti-buckling device using the finite element method, it was found that the compressive strength with the anti-buckling device by loaded bolts was about 7% higher than actual compressive strength. Additionally, compressive tests on specimen with an open hole were performed. The local stress concentration arising from the hole dominates the strength of the laminate rather than the stresses in the bulk of the material. It is observed that the remote failure stress decreases with increasing hole size and specimen width but is generally well above the value one might predict from the elastic stress concentration factor. This suggests that the material is not ideally brittle and some stress relief occurs around the hole. X-ray radiography reveals that damage in the form of fiber microbuckling and delamination initiates at the edge of the hole at approximately 80% of the failure load and extends stably under increasing load before becoming unstable at a critical length of 2-3mm (depends on specimen geometry). This damage growth and failure are analysed by a linear cohesive zone model. Using the independently measured laminate parameters of unnotched compressive strength and in-plane fracture toughness the model predicts successfully the notched strength as a function of hole size and width.