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Mechanical Properties and Structures of High Performance Polymer Composites

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymeric Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 September 2023) | Viewed by 6757

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Prof. Dr. Domagoj Vrsaljko

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Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: polymers; polymer composites; additive manufacturing; characterization; polymer blends; surface properties
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Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce this Special Issue titled "Mechanical Properties and Structures of High-Performance Polymer Composites".

Composites are defined as materials consisting of two or more chemically and physically distinct phases separated by an interface. The different materials are combined to provide a system with more useful structural or functional properties that cannot be achieved by any of the constituents alone.

At present, there is a growing interest in the introduction of high-performance reinforced polymer composite materials for structural applications in fundamental industrial sectors such as automotive, aerospace, robotics and medicine. The universal feature of the applications for these industrial sectors is the lightweight design approach, which is responsible for weight reduction while maintaining high mechanical structural performance.

In this Special Issue, we aim to publish full research papers, short communications, and review articles describing the relationship between structure and properties, as well as current trends and technologies for the synthesis, modification, and processing of high-performance polymer composites. The focus of the articles is on improving the properties (particularly the mechanical properties) of polymer composites.

Prof. Dr. Domagoj Vrsaljko
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

polymer composites
mechanical properties
structures
reinforcement
high performance
structure–properties relationship
fillers
polymer/filler interface

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2794 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Woven Glass-Fibre Prepreg Orientation on the Flexural Properties of a Sustainable Composite Honeycomb Sandwich Panel for Structural Applications

by Abd Latif Amir, Mohammad Ridzwan Ishak, Noorfaizal Yidris, Mohamed Yusoff Mohd Zuhri, Muhammad Rizal Muhammad Asyraf and Sharifah Zarina Syed Zakaria

Materials 2023, 16(14), 5021; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16145021 - 15 Jul 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1429

Abstract

Owing to the high potential application need in the aerospace and structural industry for honeycomb sandwich composite, the study on the flexural behaviour of sandwich composite structure has attracted attention in recent decades. The excellent bending behaviour of sandwich composite structures is based on their facesheet (FS) and core materials. This research studied the effect of woven glass-fibre prepreg orientation on the honeycomb sandwich panel. A three-point bending flexural test was done as per ASTM C393 standard by applying a 5 kN load on different orientation angles of woven glass-fibre prepreg honeycomb sandwich panel: α = 0°, 45° and 90°. The results show that most of the sandwich panel has almost the same failure mode during the three-point bending test. Additionally, the α = 0° orientation angle shows a higher maximum load prior to the first failure occurrence compared to others due to higher flexibility but lower stiffness. In addition, the woven glass-fibre prepreg orientation angle, α = 0°, has the maximum stress and flexural modulus, which directly depend upon the maximum load value obtained during the flexural test. In addition, the experimental results and analytical prediction for honeycomb sandwich deflection show good agreement. According to the result obtained, it is revealed that woven glass-fibre honeycomb sandwich panels with an α = 0° orientation is a good alternative compared to 45° and 90°, especially when better bending application is the main purpose. The final result of this research can be applied to enhance the properties of glass-fibre-reinforced polymer composite (GFRPC) cross-arm and enhance the existing cross-arm used in high transmission towers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Structures of High Performance Polymer Composites)

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14 pages, 3408 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Glued Laminated Beams Strengthened by Pre-Stressed Basalt Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Bars

by Agnieszka Wdowiak-Postulak, František Bahleda and Jozef Prokop

Materials 2023, 16(7), 2776; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16072776 - 30 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1189

Abstract

Damage often develops in glued laminated timber members under high bending loads due to natural defects in the timber, which results in their low load-bearing capacity and stiffness. In order to improve the bending mechanical properties of glulam beams, a new type of longitudinal glulam reinforcement with pre-stressed basalt fibre-reinforced polymer composites (BFRP) was developed using the Near Surface Mounted (NSM) technique. The strengthening method consisted of two pre-stressed BFRP bars glued into the grooves at the bottom side of the beam; meanwhile, for the second strengthening alternative, the third BFRP bar was embedded into the groove at the top side of the beam. Therefore, an experimental study was carried out to verify this strengthening technique, in which fifteen full-size timber beams were tested with and without bonded BFRP bar reinforcement in three series. According to the results of this experimental study, it can be seen that the effective load-bearing capacity of the reinforced beams increased up to 36% and that the stiffness of the beams increased by 23% compared to the unreinforced beams. The tensile stresses in the wooden fibres were reduced by 11.32% and 25.42% on average for the beams reinforced with two and three BFRP bars, respectively. On the other hand, the compressive stresses were reduced by 16.53% and 32.10% compared to the unreinforced beams. The usual failure mode saw the cracking of the wood fibres at the defects, while for some specimens, there were also signs of cracks in the epoxy adhesive bond; however, the crack propagation was, overall, significantly reduced. The numerical calculations also show a good correlation with the experimental results. The difference in the results between the experimental and numerical analysis of the reinforced and unreinforced full-sized beams ranged between 3.63% and 11.45%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Structures of High Performance Polymer Composites)

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15 pages, 13911 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal and Mechanical Characterization of the New Functional Composites Used for 3D Printing of Static Mixers

by Marijan-Pere Marković, Ivan Karlo Cingesar, Laura Keran, Domagoj Prlić, Ivana Grčić and Domagoj Vrsaljko

Materials 2022, 15(19), 6713; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15196713 - 27 Sep 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1478

Abstract

This paper investigates the possibility of integrating the combination of nanofillers, titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) into the thermoplastic polymer matrix. This combination of fillers can possibly modify the physico-chemical properties of composites compared to the pure polymer matrix. The composites were blended using the extrusion method. The composite filament produced was used to manufacture static mixers on a 3D printer using the additive manufacturing technology fused filament fabrication (FFF). The aim of this work was to inspect the influence of the filler addition on the thermal and mechanical properties of glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PET-G) polymer composites. The fillers were added to the PET-G polymer matrix in several ratios. Tensile test results showed an increase in the overall strength and decrease in the elongation at break of the material. Melt flow rate (MFR) showed a decrease in the viscosity with the initial filler addition and reaching a plateau after 2 wt% filler was added. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed minor changes in the thermal properties. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) results showed homogenous distribution of the filler in the matrix and strong filler–matrix adhesion. The results indicate suitable properties of new functional composites for the 3D printing of static mixers for application in tubular reactors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Structures of High Performance Polymer Composites)

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14 pages, 5938 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Two-Layer Rubber-Based Composite Material and UHMWPE with High Wear Resistance

by Afanasy A. Dyakonov, Andrey P. Vasilev, Sakhayana N. Danilova, Aitalina A. Okhlopkova, Praskovia N. Tarasova, Nadezhda N. Lazareva, Alexander A. Ushkanov, Aleksei G. Tuisov, Anatoly K. Kychkin and Pavel V. Vinokurov

Materials 2022, 15(13), 4678; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134678 - 4 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2200

Abstract

The aim of the study is the development of two-layer materials based on ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and isoprene rubber (IR) depending on the vulcanization accelerators (2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT), diphenylguanidine (DPG), and tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD)). The article presents the study of the influence of these accelerators on the properties and structure of UHMWPE. It is shown that the use of accelerators to modify UHMWPE leads to an increase in tensile strength of 28–53%, a relative elongation at fracture of 7–23%, and wear resistance of three times compared to the original UHMWPE. It has been determined that the introduction of selected vulcanization accelerators into UHMWPE leads to an increase in adhesion between the polymer and rubber. The study of the interfacial boundary of a two-layer material with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that the structure is characterized by the presence of UHMWPE fibrils localized in the rubber material due to mechanical adhesion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Structures of High Performance Polymer Composites)

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