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Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs): Mechanical behaviors and Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 19966

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Prof. Dr. Caterina Casavola

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Politecnico di Bari, Bari, Italy
Interests: composite materials; carbon fiber; reinforced polymers; mechanical characterization; numerical model

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The use of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRPs) in specific engineering fields, such as in automotive and aerospace applications, is heavily increasing, because vehicle lightweighting is becoming increasingly important. Composites show mechanical behaviors totally different from those of conventional bulk materials. Their use is associated with providing high performance in terms of increased flexural and tensile resistances for specific structural applications. However, currently, knowledge of their mechanical responses is not complete, and for this reason, they need to be investigated using experiments and models. Experimental campaigns remain the most useful way to characterize them, as, in recent years, many researchers have presented very promising results by using innovative methodologies. Numerical and analytical models of CFRPs represent the key to saving money and time in order to provide validated simulations able to replace, in part, experimental tests.

The Special Issue will focus on any kind of mechanical characterization using both traditional and innovative techniques on CRFPs. Such composites could be made by different kinds of manufacturing processes and investigated by applying several numerical and analytical models. Special attention will be given to innovative approaches able to predict, in a reliable way, the mechanical responses of CFRPs during work conditions.

Assoc. Prof. Caterina Casavola
Guest Editor

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Keywords

carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP)
composites
mechanical properties
manufacturing processes
numerical and analytical models
engineering applications

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 10656 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Damage Propagation Analysis in the Single Lap Shear and Single Lap Shear-Riveted CFRP Joints by Acoustic Emission and Pattern Recognition Approach

by Claudia Barile, Caterina Casavola, Giovanni Pappalettera and Paramsamy Kannan Vimalathithan

Materials 2020, 13(18), 3963; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13183963 - 7 Sep 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1818

Abstract

An innovative way of using the Acoustic Emission (AE) technique is introduced in this research work. The ratio of recorded acoustic energy and the counts recorded for each acoustic event were used for characterizing Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) laminates adhesively bonded with and without mechanical fasteners. The cumulative counts and cumulative energy of the recorded acoustic events were used for identifying the critical points of failure under loading of these hybrid joint specimens. The peak amplitude distribution was used for identifying the different damage modes such as delamination, matrix cracking and fiber breakage, albeit, ineffectively. The new parameter energy per count was introduced in this work, which can successfully identify the different damage modes under loading. To differentiate the damage modes using the energy per count, they were clustered using k-means++ pattern recognition technique. The method introduced in this work can estimate the damage modes of the CFRP specimens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs): Mechanical behaviors and Applications)

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15 pages, 7094 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental and Numerical Impact Analysis of Automotive Bumper Brackets Made of 2D Triaxially Braided CFRP Composites

by Robert Böhm, Andreas Hornig, Tony Weber, Bernd Grüber and Maik Gude

Materials 2020, 13(16), 3554; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13163554 - 12 Aug 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2482

Abstract

The impact behavior of carbon fiber epoxy bumper brackets reinforced with 2D biaxial and 2D triaxial braids was experimentally and numerically analyzed. For this purpose, a phenomenological damage model was modified and implemented as a user material in ABAQUS. It was hypothesized that all input parameters could be determined from a suitable high-speed test program. Therefore, novel impact test device was designed, developed and integrated into a drop tower. Drop tower tests with different impactor masses and impact velocities at different bumper bracket configurations were conducted to compare the numerically predicted deformation and damage behavior with experimental evidence. Good correlations between simulations and tests were found, both for the global structural deformation, including fracture, and local damage entities in the impact zone. It was proven that the developed phenomenological damage models can be fully applied for present-day industrial problems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs): Mechanical behaviors and Applications)

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22 pages, 8175 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study on the Flexural Creep Behaviors of Pultruded Unidirectional Carbon/Glass Fiber-Reinforced Hybrid Bars

by Hiran Mayookh Lal, Guijun Xian, Sabu Thomas, Lei Zhang, Zhonghui Zhang and Huili Wang

Materials 2020, 13(4), 976; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13040976 - 21 Feb 2020

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 2943

Abstract

Unidirectional pultruded glass/carbon hybrid fiber-reinforced polymer (HFRP) bars with a diameter of 19 mm have recently been developed for various structural applications. In this study, the creep behavior of HFRP bars caused by bending was experimentally evaluated under different conditions. Our creep study included freeze–thaw preconditioned and unconditioned HFRP bars. The rate of strain and deflection were monitored continuously for a duration of 5000 h. The bars were further tested for creep under the combined effects of mechanical loading and induced thermal cycles, while continuously monitoring the strain rate. Stress levels of 50% to 70% were selected for our creep study. The creep behavior of the bars was analyzed utilizing Findley’s power-law model. On the basis of the linear approximation of Findley’s power law, modulus reductions of approximately 21%, 19%, and 10.75% were calculated for combined freeze–thaw/creep-loaded, freeze–thaw pretreated, and unconditioned HFRP bars, respectively, over a service period of 50 y. The time-dependent deflection of HFRP bars was analyzed by coupling Findley’s power-law model with Euler Bernoulli’s beam theory. The creep deflection intensified by 26.6% and 11.1% for preconditioned and untreated bars, respectively, after a service period of 50 y. The microstructures of HFRP bars was also examined utilizing scanning electron microscopy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs): Mechanical behaviors and Applications)

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16 pages, 8285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Very High Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) Characteristics of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) under Ultrasonic Loading

by Wenbin Cui, Xuan Chen, Chao Chen, Li Cheng, Junliang Ding and Hui Zhang

Materials 2020, 13(4), 908; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13040908 - 18 Feb 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2624

Abstract

A liquid nitrogen cooling system was developed to ensure the successful ultrasonic testing of composite materials to characterize the very High Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). The fatigue failure of CFRP occurs even in the very high cycle range and there is no traditional fatigue limit. The S–N curve of the CFRP presents a step whose characteristics appear in the transition between high cycle and very high cycle fatigue. The damage evolution of CFRP in the same field of view is investigated. The morphology of damaged CFRP composites under ultrasonic loading is described by three characteristics: matrix damage at the intersection of fiber bundles, near fiber bundle parallel section matrix cavity and matrix penetration. With the increasing of cycles, the damage process is also presented in turn according to these three characteristics. The post-fatigue bending modulus changed significantly from the pre-fatigue values, indicating that the VHCF had a considerable impact on the mechanical properties of the composite. An evolution threshold was introduced from the S–N curve to determine the fatigue evolution law from the high cycle regime to the very high cycle regime. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs): Mechanical behaviors and Applications)

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15 pages, 9725 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study on Microwave-Based Curing Process with Thermal Expansion Pressure of PTFE for Manufacturing Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Composites

by Eu-Tteum Park, Youngheon Lee, Jeong Kim, Beom-Soo Kang and Woojin Song

Materials 2019, 12(22), 3737; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12223737 - 13 Nov 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2563

Abstract

Conventional composite curing incur high production costs because of their long processing times. In contrast, microwave curing process (MCP) can reduce the production costs because both the mold and the composite parts can be heated directly. In this study, a mold consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), quartz glass, and stainless steel clamps was manufactured to cure composite specimens of carbon fiber and epoxy resin. Flame test was conducted prior to the MCP to confirm whether the spark occurred in the mold and the composite prepreg. Uniaxial tensile tests and three-point bending tests were then conducted to obtain the mechanical properties of the composite specimens according to the input power and the processing time. The mechanical properties of the composite specimens fabricated by MCP were compared with those of composite specimens manufactured by PCF. The results show that MCP can cure the composite prepreg more rapidly than PCF and can attain comparable mechanical properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs): Mechanical behaviors and Applications)

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20 pages, 6484 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Continuum Damage Model for Intralaminar Progressive Failure Analysis of CFRP Laminates Based on the Modified Puck’s Theory

by Jiefei Gu, Ke Li and Lei Su

Materials 2019, 12(20), 3292; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12203292 - 10 Oct 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2749

Abstract

A continuum damage model is proposed to predict the intralaminar progressive failure of CFRP laminates based on the modified Puck’s theory. Puck’s failure criteria, with consideration of the in situ strength effect, are employed to evaluate the onset of intralaminar failure including fiber fracture and inter-fiber fracture. After damage initiation, a bilinear constitutive relation is used to describe the damage evolution process. In strict accordance with Puck’s concept of action plane, the extent of damage is quantified by the damage variables defined in the fracture plane coordinate system, rather than the traditional material principal coordinate system. Theoretical and experimental evaluation of CFRP laminates under different loading conditions demonstrates the rationality and effectiveness of the proposed numerical model. The model has been successfully implemented in a finite element (FE) software to simulate the intralaminar progressive failure process of CFRP laminates. A good agreement between the experimental and numerical results demonstrates that the present model is capable of predicting the intralaminar failure of CFRP laminates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs): Mechanical behaviors and Applications)

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14 pages, 4453 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Laser Parameters and the Ablation Mechanism in Laser Ablation of C/SiC Composite

by Sining Pan, Qingyu Li, Zhaokun Xian, Nanguang Su and Fanzheng Zeng

Materials 2019, 12(19), 3076; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12193076 - 20 Sep 2019

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 3998

Abstract

The effects of laser parameters and the ablation mechanism in laser ablation of a carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) composite are investigated in the present study. Six different power densities are provided, as well as six levels of pulse numbers, and then ablation experiments are conducted for the C/SiC composite, induced by a pulsed laser. Based on the experimental results, the characteristics of surface morphology and ablation behavior are discussed. It is revealed that the surface morphology of the C/SiC composite under laser irradiation usually includes three regions: the center region, the transition region, and the border region. With the increase of laser power density, the ablation of the center region becomes severe, surface cracks occur, and more spherical SiC particles are found in the transition region. As for scenarios involving multiple pulses, the damage occurs in the center region at low power density limits, within the first two layers below the surface. However, if the power density is relatively high, an ablation pit occurs in the center region when the pulse number is larger than 50. Meanwhile, the transition region and the border region diminish with increase of the pulse number. It is noted that both the power density and pulse number have noticeable effects on surface morphology and ablation behavior during laser ablation, which is helpful for material design and performance evaluation of C/SiC composites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs): Mechanical behaviors and Applications)

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