The Tensile Fatigue Behavior of a Glass-fiber Reinforced Plastic Composite Using a Hybrid-toughened Epoxy Matrix
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Manjunatha, CM
Sprenger, S
Taylor, AC
Kinloch, AJ
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
A thermosetting epoxy-polymer was modified by incorporating 9 wt% of carboxyl-terminated butadiene–acrylonitrile rubber microparticles and 10 wt% of silica nanoparticles. The tensile fatigue behavior at a stress ratio, R = 0.1 for both the neat-epoxy polymer (i.e., unmodified) and the hybrid-epoxy polymer was first investigated. The fatigue life of the hybrid-epoxy polymer was about six to ten times higher than that of the neat-epoxy polymer. Secondly, the neat- and the hybrid-epoxy resins were infused into a quasi-isotropic lay-up, E-glass fiber fabric via a ‘Resin Infusion under Flexible Tooling’ set-up to fabricate glass-fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite panels. The tensile fatigue tests at a stress ratio, R = 0.1 were performed on both of these GFRP composites during which the matrix cracking and stiffness degradation were routinely monitored. The fatigue life of the GFRP composite increased by about six to ten times due to employing the hybrid-epoxy matrix, compared to employing the neat-epoxy matrix. Suppressed matrix cracking and a reduced crack propagation rate were observed in the hybrid-epoxy matrix, which resulted from the various toughening micromechanisms induced by the presence of both the rubber microparticles and silica nanoparticles. These factors were considered to contribute towards the enhanced fatigue life which was observed for the GFRP composite employing the hybrid-epoxy matrix.
Date Issued
2010-08-05
Date Acceptance
2010-02-18
Citation
Journal of Composite Materials, 2010, 44 (17), pp.2095-2109
ISSN
1530-793X
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Start Page
2095
End Page
2109
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Composite Materials
Volume
44
Issue
17
Copyright Statement
© Sage 2010. The final publication is available via Sage at https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0021998309360943
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Materials Science, Composites
Materials Science
MATERIALS SCIENCE, COMPOSITES
silica nanoparticle
rubber particle
glass-fiber composite
fatigue
matrix cracking
epoxy polymers
RUBBER-MODIFIED EPOXIES
SILICA NANO-PARTICLES
MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES
STIFFNESS DEGRADATION
NANOCOMPOSITES
FRACTURE
TOUGHNESS
POLYMERS
DAMAGE
SIZE
Publication Status
Published