Review
Materials Science, Composites
Janos Plocher, Lorenzo Mencattelli, Federico Narducci, Silvestre Pinho
Summary: Recent studies have shown that replicating structures and toughening mechanisms found in flora and fauna can help create high-performance fiber-reinforced polymers with enhanced toughness and damage tolerance. Understanding the design principles and mechanisms is crucial in manufacturing damage-tolerant bio-inspired composites.
COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Nicola Vallack, Prasad Potluri, William W. Sampson
Summary: A systematic investigation was conducted to study the influence of nonwoven veils made from different fiber types on the Interlaminar Fracture Toughness (IFT) of carbon/epoxy composites. The IFT increased to a plateau above a mean coverage of about 3 for veils with various areal densities and coverage. The effect of fiber type on IFT varied depending on the mode of loading, with polymer fibers showing higher increases than inorganic fibers for mode I, while the increase in IFT for mode II was broadly insensitive to fiber type. SEM fractography revealed highly curled veil fibers in the polymer veil interleaves that significantly increased IFT, indicating a significant energy absorbing mechanism.
COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Mechanics
Solomon Ugochukwu, M. J. M. Ridzuan, M. S. Abdul Majid, E. M. Cheng, Z. M. Razlan, Noraini Marsi
Summary: The study found that the scratch resistance of natural-fibre-reinforced epoxy composites decreased with increasing thermal ageing time, but after 30 days of thermal ageing, jute-fibre-reinforced epoxy composites exhibited the best scratch resistance properties compared to kenaf and hemp-fibre-reinforced epoxy composites.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Rui He, Longfei Cheng, Yidi Gao, Hao Cui, Yulong Li
Summary: This paper investigates the effect of in-plane shear stress on the fiber kinking compressive fracture toughness of laminates using compact compression specimens with off-axis fibers. The results show that in-plane shear stress increases the values of the R-curves, leading to an increase in energy dissipation. Microscopic morphology reveals the increasing splitting of fiber bundles and subsequent fiber compression failure as the off-axis angle of the fibers increases.
COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Materials Science, Ceramics
Jinsong Yang, Jinlu Chen, Fang Ye, Laifei Cheng, Yi Zhang
Summary: This review summarizes the synthesis processes and applications of high-temperature atomically laminated materials such as graphite, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and MAX phases. It also analyzes the differences in mechanical performance between these materials and isotropic materials, and looks forward to their future development in toughening applications.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Dong Quan, Ujala Farooq, Guoqun Zhao, Clemens Dransfeld, Rene Alderliesten
Summary: Exploring routes for the effective use of recycled carbon fibres (rCFs) is critical to improve the fracture toughness of carbon fibre/epoxy composites. This study demonstrated the potential of using rCFs with PPS fibres for interlayer toughening, resulting in significant enhancements in the interlaminar fracture properties. The main toughening mechanisms were found to be fiber bridging for rCF/PPS mats.
MATERIALS & DESIGN
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Yoran Geboes, Amalia Katalagarianakis, Jeroen Soete, Jan Ivens, Yentl Swolfs
Summary: Translaminar fracture toughness is a key property that determines the damage tolerance and notch sensitivity of fibre-reinforced composites. This study found that using PAR and PBO fibers can significantly improve the translaminar fracture toughness of composite materials, while the performance of aramid fiber is lackluster in comparison.
COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Thinesh Sharma Balakrishnan, Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan, Jesuarockiam Naveen, Farah Syazwani Shahar, Muhammad Imran Najeeb, Ain Umaira Md Shah, Tabrej Khan, Tamer Ali Sebaey
Summary: This research used the analytical hierarchy process to select the most suitable natural fiber as reinforcement in hybrid pultruded FRP composites. Among 13 alternatives, kenaf was found to be the most suitable reinforcement for the application.
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Wei Fan, Hua Yang, Ambrose C. Taylor
Summary: A numerical model based on crack phase field analysis was used to investigate the quasi-static fracture process in interpenetrating phase composites (IPCs). The study found that tougher and stiffer tougheners result in more fracture in the brittle phase, but less fracture in the toughening phase, leading to a competition between increasing breakage in the brittle phase and declining breakage in the toughening phase. The study also identified various crack propagation patterns and compared fracture in different microstructures.
COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Monica Penas-Caballero, Enrico Chemello, Antonio Mattia Grande, Marianella Hernandez Santana, Raquel Verdejo, Miguel A. A. Lopez-Manchado
Summary: Self-healing materials offer a potential solution to the problem of damage to fibre-reinforced plastics (FRPs). By using poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as a self-healing agent, the study explores its effectiveness when blended with the matrix or applied as a coating to carbon fibres. The results show that blending strategy does not enable healing capacity, while coating the fibres with PMMA achieves up to 53% fracture toughness recovery.
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Mazharul Islam Lincon, Vijaya B. Chalivendra
Summary: This study investigates the dynamic mode-I fracture toughness and damage sensing capabilities of hybrid composites using a modified split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) setup. Six different hybrid glass/carbon composites are considered, and a four probes measurement system and high-speed imaging are used to determine resistance response and fracture toughness. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging is used to investigate fracture mechanisms. The results show that different composites have varying fracture initiation toughness and damage sensing capabilities under different loading conditions.
APPLIED COMPOSITE MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Christopher Meninno, Vijaya Chalivendra
Summary: The study investigated the impact of different laminate orientations on mode-I and mode-II fracture toughness, as well as the correlation between fracture toughness values and scanning electron microscopy images. The results showed that C-0-G-90 composites exhibited higher mode-I fracture toughness, while G-0-C-90 composites showed higher mode-II fracture toughness. The electrical response was found to be closely related to crack dynamics.
COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
George Irven, Adam Whitehouse, Declan Carolan, Alexander Fergusson, John P. Dear
Summary: The methods of improving the toughness of the bond between a foam core and a carbon fibre face-sheet in a sandwich structure were investigated. It was found that introducing machined grooves in the foam and using core-shell rubber particles to toughen the face-sheets resulted in significant improvements in bond toughness. Additionally, using aramid fiber-reinforced foam as the core of the sandwich structure also contributed to enhancing the interface bond toughness and promoting R-curve behavior during crack propagation.
ENGINEERING FRACTURE MECHANICS
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Daniela Scorza, Raimondo Luciano, Saeed Mousa, Sabrina Vantadori
Summary: This study aims to investigate the fracture properties of hybrid fibre-reinforced Roller-Compacted Concretes (RCCs) used in pavements, conducting tests on both single and hybrid fibre-reinforced concrete specimens and utilizing a Modified Two Parameter Model to calculate mixed-mode fracture toughness. Ductility is evaluated through a toughness index, while the impact of reinforcing fibres on post-peak material behavior is also discussed.
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Cheng Huang, Mathew W. Joosten
Summary: The translaminar fracture toughness of two different continuous fibre 3D printed ply architectures was evaluated using a compact tension test. The performances of a baseline 0/90 cross-ply architecture and a semi-woven 0/90 ply architecture resembling Advanced Placed Ply (AP-Ply) fabricated using automated fibre placement were compared. The experimental results showed that the laminate architecture has a slight influence on the trans-laminar fracture toughness of 3D printed carbon fibre composites, and both ply architectures exhibited a rising R curve, with the semi-woven samples showing a less pronounced curve.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Khaled Giasin, Antigoni Barouni, Hom Nath Dhakal, Carol Featherson, Zitoune Redouane, Sezer Morkavuk, Ugur Koklu
Summary: A new environmentally friendly cryogenic cooling technique was used for drilling S2/FM94 glass fibre reinforced epoxy composite in a liquid nitrogen bath. The study aimed to investigate the effects of drilling parameters and cryogenic cooling on cutting forces, surface roughness, hardness, and delamination factor at hole entry and exit sides. The results showed that spindle speed and cryogenic cooling had the most significant influence on cutting forces and surface roughness, while cryogenic cooling had the most significant influence on increasing hardness and delamination size at the hole entry and exit sides.
JOURNAL OF REINFORCED PLASTICS AND COMPOSITES
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Antigoni Barouni, Colin Lupton, Chulin Jiang, Abu Saifullah, Khaled Giasin, Zhongyi Zhang, Hom N. Dhakal
Summary: This study investigates the fatigue behavior of composite laminates with flax and glass fiber hybrid reinforcements. The hybrid configuration shows a great effect on fatigue life, with the alternating layers of flax and glass demonstrating the best performance and significantly lower probability of failure compared to other configurations. Fabrication-induced defects and fiber-matrix interface also play a role in influencing fatigue life and overall performance of the structures.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hom Nath Dhakal, Chulin Jiang, Moumita Sit, Zhongyi Zhang, Moussa Khalfallah, Erwan Grossmann
Summary: This study evaluated the moisture absorption behavior and mechanical properties of sandwich biocomposites made from flax fiber-reinforced poly-lactic acid (PLA) and cork. Moisture uptake significantly influenced the mechanical properties, with sample A showing better performance in both dry and wet conditions. The presence of cork affected water absorption and mechanical behavior, suggesting potential applications in lightweight environments.
Article
Polymer Science
Khaled Giasin, Hom N. Dhakal, Carol A. Featheroson, Danil Yurievich Pimenov, Colin Lupton, Chulin Jiang, Antigoni Barouni, Ugur Koklu
Summary: This study investigates the impact-induced damage of aerospace glass fiber epoxy composites under different fiber orientations and incident energy levels. Experimental and numerical analysis show that fiber orientation and energy level have significant effects on the impact resistance and damage modes. The results provide guidance for the design of glass composites in aerospace applications.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Abu Saifullah, Lei Wang, Antigoni Barouni, Khaled Giasin, Colin Lupton, Chulin Jiang, Zhongyi Zhang, Aldo Quaratino, Hom N. Dhakal
Summary: This study investigated the low velocity impact properties and damage propagation mechanism of rotationally moulded skin-foam-skin sandwich structures, comparing the effects of different foam material densities. The results demonstrated that sandwich structures with lower density foam material showed better impact properties and residual strength than those with higher density foam material.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY-JMR&T
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
E. Richely, A. Bourmaud, H. Dhakal, Z. Zhang, J. Beaugrand, S. Guessasma
Summary: This study investigates the morphology and internal structure of flax fibers using X-ray microtomography (mu-CT) and finite element (FE) modeling. The results show that flax fibers have intricate shapes and internal lumen morphology, with porosity contents ranging from 0 to 7.2%. The numerical results reveal that the stiffness decreases due to the combined effects of porosity and stress heterogeneity caused by geometrical considerations. Stress concentrations induced by surface roughness and complex lumen shape are also observed, highlighting their potential contribution to failure mechanisms. However, the Young's moduli are overestimated compared to experimental curves, and the model does not consider nonlinearities or damage mechanisms. Future work should include the orientation and reorientation of cellulose microfibrils during tensile testing, as well as damage mechanisms.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Chun Han Song, Khaled Giasin, Abu Saifullah, Antigoni Barouni
Summary: The performance of Fibre Metal Laminates (FMLs) with natural fibre composites under uniaxial tension was investigated in this study. Numerical modeling and analysis were conducted to explore the contact interface between natural fibre metal laminates (NFML). The results showed that the layup sequence significantly affects the stress-strain response and ultimate tensile strength, with unidirectional laminates showing a significant advantage.
Review
Polymer Science
Muneer Ahmed. Musthaq, Hom Nath Dhakal, Zhongyi Zhang, Antigoni Barouni, Rizal Zahari
Summary: Studies on the effects of environmental conditions on natural fibres and their composites have gained significant attention. The hydrophilic nature of natural fibres makes them prone to water absorption, which negatively impacts the mechanical properties of natural-fibre-reinforced composites (NFRCs). NFRCs, used in lightweight materials for automobile and aerospace components, need to withstand extreme temperatures and humid conditions worldwide. This paper critically discusses the impact performance of NFRCs under environmental conditions, focusing on moisture ingress and relative humidity as damage mechanisms.
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Saeid Hosseinpour Dashatan, Moumita Sit, Zhongyi Zhang, Erwan Grossmann, Jeremy Millot, Ya Huang, Hom Nath Dhakal
Summary: This study investigates the damping and viscoelastic properties of flax/epoxy composites and their carbon fiber hybrid laminates. The results show that the location and number of flax plies contribute to the damping behavior, while the bending stiffness is mainly influenced by the position of carbon plies. The damping ratio varies for each vibration mode, and the trade-off between flexural stiffness and damping ratio can lead to significant improvements in specific configurations.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Antigoni K. Barouni, Christoforos S. Rekatsinas
Summary: The propagation of Lamb waves within natural fiber reinforced composite strips was studied, with fundamental wave modes excited on the structure. Both methods considered were able to capture symmetric and antisymmetric wave modes, with promising results for investigating damage in hybrid flax/glass fiber composite materials. Exciting the hybrid strip at higher frequency revealed the potential to capture all existing wave modes.
JOURNAL OF COMPOSITES SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Rawan Aqel, Patrick Severson, Rani Elhajjar
Summary: A novel core splice joint configuration for composite sandwich structures is studied and proposed to improve the strength and toughness. Experimental and numerical efforts show that this configuration can significantly increase the ultimate strength by 13% to 51% and the toughness by 2% to 35%.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Xianheng Wang, Cong Chen, Jinsong Zhang, Xinming Qiu
Summary: In this paper, a new form-finding method based on spatial elastica model (FMSE) is proposed for elastic gridshells. The method integrates the deformations of elastic rods into the overall deformation of the gridshell, and solves a set of transcendental equations using the quasi-Newton method to ensure the deformation satisfies the given boundary conditions. The method is validated through experiments and expected to have potential applications in the investigations of elastic gridshells.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Hao Huang, Zitong Guo, Zhongde Shan, Zheng Sun, Jianhua Liu, Dong Wang, Wang Wang, Jiale Liu, Chenchen Tan
Summary: The conventional evaluation of 3D braided composites' mechanical properties through numerical and experimental methodologies hinders material application due to the expenses, time constraints, and laborious efforts involved. This study establishes a multi-scale finite element model and a surrogate model for predicting the elastic properties of 3D4D rotary braided composites with voids. By optimizing a neural network model, the results are validated and provide valuable insights into the microstructure and properties of these composites.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Xinyu Li, Hao Zhang, Haiyang Yang, Junrong Luo, Zhongmin Xiao, Hongshuai Lei
Summary: Due to their excellent mechanical properties and design flexibility, fluted-core composite sandwich structures have gained significant attention in aerospace and rail transit applications. This study investigated the free-vibration characteristics and optimized design of composite fluted-core sandwich cylinders through theoretical models and experimental tests.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Chao Li, Chunzheng Duan, Xiaodong Tian, Chao Wang
Summary: A mechanistic model considering the bottom edge cutting effect and the anisotropic characteristics of the material is proposed in this paper to accurately predict cutting forces. The model was validated through a series of milling experiments and can be used to predict the cutting force of various parts of the cutter and any feed direction.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Camila Sanches Schimidt, Leopoldo Pisanelli Rodrigues de Oliveira, Carlos De Marqui Jr
Summary: This work investigates the vibro-acoustic performance of graded piezoelectric metamaterial plates. The study shows that piezoelectric metamaterial plates with reconfigurable properties can provide enhanced vibration and sound power attenuation.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Jun Ke, Li-jie Liu, Zhen-yu Wu, Zhong-ping Le, Luo Bao, Dong-wei Luo
Summary: Compared with other green natural fibers, ramie has higher mechanical properties and lower cost. In this study, ramie and glass fiber are made into composite circular tubes. The results show that the hybrid circular tube with ramie and glass fiber has improved torsional mechanical properties and reduced weight and cost. The failure mechanisms are affected by the loading direction and the content of each fiber.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Natalia Pingaro, Gabriele Milani
Summary: This paper proposes an enhanced analytical model for predicting the behavior of FRCM samples tested under standard tensile tests. The model takes into account the interaction between fibers and matrix through the interface, and assumes different material properties at different phases. By solving a second order linear differential equation, an analytical solution can be obtained. The model is validated with experimental data and shows good predictability.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Jialiang Fan, Anastasios P. Vassilopoulos, Veronique Michaud
Summary: This article investigates the effects of voids, joint geometry, and test conditions on the fracture performance of thick adhesive Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) joints. It concludes that grooved DCB joints with low void content tested at low displacement rates showed stable crack propagation without significant crack path deviation.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Auwalu I. Mohammed, Kaarthikeyan Raghupathy, Osvaldo De Victoria Garcia Baltazar, Lawson Onokpasah, Roger Carvalho, Anders Mogensen, Farzaneh Hassani, James Njuguna
Summary: This study investigates the performance of composite pressure vessels under damaged and undamaged conditions, providing insights into their reliability and residual strength capabilities. The results demonstrate that the damage profile and its effect on compressive strength are similar between damaged and non-damaged cylinders. When subjected to quasi-static compression, the polyethylene liner absorbs enough elastic strain energy to recover without plastic deformation. Additionally, quasi-static compression has little to no influence on the axial strength of the cylinders. The damage characterization reveals fiber breakage, delamination, local buckling, and brooming failure. This study has direct implications for the safety design tolerances, manufacturing strategies, and operational failure conditions of composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs).
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Muhammad Irfan Shirazi, Samir Khatir, Djilali Boutchicha, Magd Abdel Wahab
Summary: Structural health monitoring is important to ensure the safety of components and structures. This study proposes a method using finite element models and 1D-CNN network to extract and classify vibration responses for crack detection. The results show that the proposed approach is effective in real-time damage detection.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Maryam Mirsalehi, Kiarash Kianpour, Sharif Shahbeyk, Mohammad Bakhshi
Summary: This study comprehensively investigates the one-way response of 3D-woven sandwich panels (3DWSPs) and their interfering parameters, providing interpretation of elastic and failure results, failure maps, and reliable theoretical models for linear elastic response and observed failure mechanisms.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Yiming Zhao, Zhonggang Wang, Zhigang Yang, Bin Qin
Summary: The paper proposes a Ritz and statistical energy analysis (Ritz SEA) hybrid method for calculating rectangular plate acoustic vibration coupling in the mid-frequency range. This method combines the fast convergence and ability to handle arbitrary boundary conditions of the Ritz method with the power flow equation of the statistical energy analysis method. The results show that this approach effectively filters out random fluctuations in mid-frequency domains while demonstrating exceptional stability and precision.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Joao Henrique Fonseca, Woojung Jang, Dosuck Han, Naksoo Kim, Hyungyil Lee
Summary: This study addresses the enhancement of an injection-molded fiber-reinforced plastic / metal hybrid automotive structure and its plastic injection molding process through the integration of the finite element method, artificial intelligence, and evolutionary search methods. Experimental validation of finite element models, the generation of a database through orthogonal array and Latin hypercube methods, and the training of artificial neural networks are conducted. The genetic optimization algorithm is then applied to identify optimal process parameters. The results show significant reduction in product warpage and manufacturing time while maintaining structural strength, contributing to the advancement of composite automotive structures with superior quality.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
Article
Mechanics
Alessandro Vescovini, Carina Xiaochen Li, Javier Paz Mendez, Bo Cheng Jin, Andrea Manes, Chiara Bisagni
Summary: This paper presents a study on six single-stringer specimens manufactured using the card-sliding technique with non-crimp fabrics and adopting a Double-Double (DD) stacking sequence. The specimens were tested under compression loading conditions to investigate post-buckling and failure in aerospace structures. Experimental results and numerical simulations were compared to analyze the behavior and failure modes of the specimens. The study found promising evidence of a viable solution to optimize aeronautical structures and enhance resistance to skin-stringer separation, particularly with the use of tapered flanges.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2024)
