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Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites

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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 36374

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Prof. Dr. Nektaria-Marianthi Barkoula

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Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
Interests: structure-property relationships in materials; durability of polymers/polymer composites and cement-based composites; tribological behavior of polymers; metals and composites; biodegradable/biobased polymers; recyclability; eco-composites, nanocomposites/multi-functional materials/hierarchical composites
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Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, a great amount of effort has been dedicated to the development of advanced polymers and their composites. In this respect, researchers have focused on new polymers and reinforcements, to obtain high performance systems with enhanced mechanical performance, corrosion resistance, low maintenance cost, self-healing, and self-sensing capabilities. One important aspect that needs to be addressed for the successful application of these systems is related to their overall performance to the service environment. This includes their response to fatigue, creep, impact, as well as environmental loading. Thus, besides mechanical deterioration, the long-term durability of polymers and their composites has been in the spotlight in recent decades since the deterioration of their performance due to environmental exposure is still a major challenge for these types of materials. Most common conditions that promote degradation and durability loss include exposure to high or low temperatures, thermal shock, radiation, liquids, or gases.

At the same time, a significant amount of effort has been concentrated in improving the performance of polymer composites through innovation in materials, design, manufacturing, the prediction of long-term behavior, and new evaluation methodologies. The introduction of nano-scale inclusions to improve damage-tolerance and enhance the damage sensing capabilities of polymers and composites has been also drawn attention lately. Another area of research is polymer and composite systems that can be re-shaped and recycled and can extend their service life through self-healing processes.

Based on the above, this Special Issue is oriented to all types of polymers and polymer matrix composites. Advances in all aspects that influence/improve the mechanical performance, maintainability, and durability of these systems are of interest. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for the submission of manuscripts are available on the journal’s website.

Prof. Nektaria-Marianthi Barkoula
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.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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

advanced polymers and composites
mechanical properties
durability
environmental exposure
fatigue
creep
impact
wear

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4839 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Imidazolium Salt for Enhanced Interfacial Shear Strength in Polyphenylene Sulfide/Ex-PAN Carbon Fiber Composites

by Baptiste Gaumond, Sébastien Livi, Jean-François Gérard and Jannick Duchet-Rumeau

Polymers 2022, 14(17), 3692; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14173692 - 5 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1390

Abstract

Processing structural or semi-structural thermoplastic-based composites is a promising solution to solve the environmental issues of the aeronautic industry. However, these composites must withstand high standard specification to ensure safety during transportation. For this reason, there is a real need to develop strong interactions between thermoplastic polymers and reinforcement fibers. This paper investigates relationships between the surface chemistry, microstructure and micromechanical properties between polyphenylene sulfide and ex-PAN carbon fibers. The incorporation of ionic salt such as 1,3-Bis(4-carboxyphenyl)imidazolium chloride into neat polyphenylene sulfide was able to significantly increase the interfacial shear strength measured by microbond micromechanical test combined with different carbon fiber surfaces treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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10 pages, 2415 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Salt-Leaching Parameters for Gelatin/Na₂Ti₃O₇ Scaffolds Using a Mixture Design Experiment

by Rittichai Sangkatip, Wipoo Sriseubsai, Kunlanan Kiatkittipong and Kaona Jongwuttanaruk

Polymers 2022, 14(3), 559; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14030559 - 29 Jan 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2234

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to learn the formation of biomedical scaffold material from gelatin by using titanate (Na₂Ti₃O₇), which is a newly synthesized derivative of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) with gelatin. It was prepared by mixed several solutions and cross-linked molecules by heating and salt-leaching. The biomedical scaffold was formed, and its porosity depended on the size of the salt crystal. The mixture was designed by using a mixture design with three factors: gelatin, titanate, and deionized water to determine the optimal mixture for the tensile strength of the biomedical scaffold. The microstructure of the biomedical scaffold was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The findings revealed that Na₂Ti₃O₇ thoroughly pen-extracted the biomedical scaffold, and the tensile strength of the gelatin/titanate scaffold was higher than the biomedical scaffold, which was formed using pure gelatin. By using the mixture design technique, the 14.73% gelatin, 0.2% Na₂Ti₃O₇, and 85.07% DI water got the highest yield of tensile strength (1508.15 kP). This was an about 4.88% increase in the tensile strength property when compared with using TiO₂. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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14 pages, 8387 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reinforced Concrete Structures Containing Chopped Carbon Fibers with Polymer Composite Materials

by George Soupionis and Loukas Zoumpoulakis

Polymers 2021, 13(21), 3812; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13213812 - 4 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2283

Abstract

In this paper, the reinforcement of concrete combining composite materials with carbon, glass and aramid fibers is discussed. Accordingly, cement specimens reinforced with chopped carbon fibers were manufactured via the retrofitting method and coated using various different types of fabrics (carbon, glass and aramid), and epoxy resin systems were developed and studied using compressive strength tests. In addition, polymeric matrix (epoxy resin) composite materials reinforced with different types of fabric (carbon, glass and aramid (Kevlar^® 49)) were manufactured and their shear and bending strengths were measured. Before reinforcing cement specimens, all fabrics (carbon, glass and aramid (Kevlar^® 49)) were placed in a vacuum chamber and were processed via pre-impregnation. This specific reinforcing method significantly improved the mechanical properties of cementitious structures with compressive strength values that reached 81 MPa. In a similar way, the bending and shear strengths of the materials under study were measured at 405 MPa and 33 MPa, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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20 pages, 59813 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fretting Fatigue Performance of Unidirectional, Laminated Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Straps at Elevated Service Temperature

by Danijela Stankovic, Luke A. Bisby, Zafiris Triantafyllidis and Giovanni P. Terrasi

Polymers 2021, 13(19), 3437; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13193437 - 7 Oct 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2268

Abstract

The fretting fatigue performance of laminated, unidirectional (UD), pin-loaded, carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) straps that can be used as bridge hanger cables was investigated at a sustained service temperature of 60 °C. The aim of this paper is to elucidate the influence of the slightly elevated service temperature on the tensile fatigue performance of CFRP straps. First, steady state thermal tests at ambient temperature and at 60 °C are presented, in order to establish the behaviour of the straps at these temperatures. These results indicated that the static tensile performance of the straps is not affected by the increase in temperature. Subsequently, nine upper stress levels (USLs) between 650 and 1400 MPa were chosen in order to establish the S–N curve at 60 °C (frequency 10 Hz; R = 0.1) and a comparison with an existing S–N curve at ambient temperature was made. In general, the straps fatigue limit was slightly decreased by temperature, up to 750 MPa USL, while, for the higher USLs, the straps performed slightly better as compared with the S–N curve at ambient temperature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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16 pages, 6987 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Filler Size and Crosslinking Degree of Polymers on Mullins Effect in Filled NR/BR Composites

by Miaomiao Qian, Bo Zou, Zhixiao Chen, Weimin Huang, Xiaofeng Wang, Bin Tang, Qingtao Liu and Yanchao Zhu

Polymers 2021, 13(14), 2284; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13142284 - 12 Jul 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2571

Abstract

Two factors, the crosslinking degree of the matrix (ν) and the size of the filler (Sz), have significant impact on the Mullins effect of filled elastomers. Herein, the result. of the two factors on Mullins effect is systematically investigated by adjusting the crosslinking degree of the matrix via adding maleic anhydride into a rubber matrix and controlling the particle size of the filler via ball milling. The dissipation ratios (the ratio of energy dissipation to input strain energy) of different filled natural rubber/butadiene rubber (NR/BR) elastomer composites are evaluated as a function of the maximum strain in cyclic loading (ε_m). The dissipation ratios show a linear relationship with the increase of ε_m within the test range, and they depend on the composite composition (ν and Sz). With the increase of ν, the dissipation ratios decrease with similar slope, and this is compared with the dissipation ratios increase which more steeply with the increase in Sz. This is further confirmed through a simulation that composites with larger particle size show a higher strain energy density when the strain level increases from 25% to 35%. The characteristic dependence of the dissipation ratios on ν and Sz is expected to reflect the Mullins effect with mathematical expression to improve engineering performance or prevent failure of rubber products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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16 pages, 9128 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical Testing and Modeling of the Time–Temperature Superposition Response in Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Composites

by Aggelos Koutsomichalis, Thomas Kalampoukas and Dionysios E. Mouzakis

Polymers 2021, 13(7), 1178; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13071178 - 6 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2820

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to manufacture hybrid composites from fabrics with superior ballistic performance, and to analyze their viscoelastic and mechanical response. Therefore, composites in hybrid lay-up modes were manufactured from Vectran, Kevlar and aluminum fiber-woven fabrics through a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding. The specimens were consequently analyzed using static three-point bending, as well as by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Apart from DMA, time–temperature superposition (TTS) analysis was performed by all available models. It was possible to study the intrinsic viscoelastic behavior of hybrid ballistic laminates, with TTS analysis gained from creep testing. A polynomic mathematical function was proposed to provide a high accuracy for TTS curves, when shifting out of the linearity regimes is required. The usual Williams–Landel–Ferry and Arrhenius models proved not useful in order to describe and model the shift factors of the acquired curves. In terms of static results, the highly nonlinear stress–strain curve of both composites was obvious, whereas the differential mechanism of failure in relation to stress absorption, at each stage of deformation, was studied. SEM fractography revealed that hybrid specimens with Kevlar plies are prone to tensile side failure, whereas the hybrid specimens with Vectran plies exhibited high performance on the tensile side of the specimens in three-point bending, leading to compressive failure owing to the high stress retained at higher strains after the maximum bending strength was reached. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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14 pages, 2574 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Evaluation of Cellulose Nanofiber with Residual Hemicellulose as a Nanofiller in Polypropylene-Based Nanocomposite

by Mohd Nor Faiz Norrrahim, Hidayah Ariffin, Tengku Arisyah Tengku Yasim-Anuar, Mohd Ali Hassan, Nor Azowa Ibrahim, Wan Md Zin Wan Yunus and Haruo Nishida

Polymers 2021, 13(7), 1064; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13071064 - 28 Mar 2021

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 3281

Abstract

Residual hemicellulose could enhance cellulose nanofiber (CNF) processing as it impedes the agglomeration of the nanocellulose fibrils and contributes to complete nanofibrillation within a shorter period of time. Its effect on CNF performance as a reinforcement material is unclear, and hence this study seeks to evaluate the performance of CNF in the presence of amorphous hemicellulose as a reinforcement material in a polypropylene (PP) nanocomposite. Two types of CNF were prepared: SHS-CNF, which contained about 11% hemicellulose, and KOH-CNF, with complete hemicellulose removal. Mechanical properties of the PP/SHS-CNF and PP/KOH-CNF showed an almost similar increment in tensile strength (31% and 32%) and flexural strength (28% and 29%) when 3 wt.% of CNF was incorporated in PP, indicating that hemicellulose in SHS-CNF did not affect the mechanical properties of the PP nanocomposite. The crystallinity of both PP/SHS-CNF and PP/KOH-CNF nanocomposites showed an almost similar value at 55–56%. A slight decrement in thermal stability was seen, whereby the decomposition temperature at 10% weight loss (T_d10%) of PP/SHS-CNF was 6 °C lower at 381 °C compared to 387 °C for PP/KOH-CNF, which can be explained by the degradation of thermally unstable hemicellulose. The results from this study showed that the presence of some portion of hemicellulose in CNF did not affect the CNF properties, suggesting that complete hemicellulose removal may not be necessary for the preparation of CNF to be used as a reinforcement material in nanocomposites. This will lead to less harsh pretreatment for CNF preparation and, hence, a more sustainable nanocomposite can be produced. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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16 pages, 5944 KiB

Open AccessArticle

UHMWPE/CaSiO₃ Nanocomposite: Mechanical and Tribological Properties

by Sakhayana N. Danilova, Sofia B. Yarusova, Yuri N. Kulchin, Ivan G. Zhevtun, Igor Yu. Buravlev, Aitalina A. Okhlopkova, Pavel S. Gordienko and Evgeniy P. Subbotin

Polymers 2021, 13(4), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13040570 - 14 Feb 2021

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 4276

Abstract

This paper studied the effect of additives of 0.5–20 wt.% synthetic CaSiO₃ wollastonite on the thermodynamic, mechanical, and tribological characteristics and structure of polymer composite materials (PCM) based on ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). Using thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscope, and laser light diffraction methods, it was shown that autoclave synthesis in the multicomponent system CaSO₄·2H₂O–SiO₂·nH₂O–KOH–H₂O allows one to obtain neeindle-shaped nanosized CaSiO₃ particles. It was shown that synthetic wollastonite is an effective filler of UHMWPE, which can significantly increase the deformation-strength and tribological characteristics of PCM. The active participation of wollastonite in tribochemical reactions occurring during friction of PCM by infrared spectroscopy was detected: new peaks related to oxygen-containing functional groups (hydroxyl and carbonyl) appeared. The developed UHMWPE/CaSiO₃ materials have high wear resistance and can be used as triboengineering materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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16 pages, 2065 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hydrothermal Aging of an Epoxy Resin Filled with Carbon Nanofillers

by Tatjana Glaskova-Kuzmina, Andrey Aniskevich, George Papanicolaou, Diana Portan, Aldobenedetto Zotti, Anna Borriello and Mauro Zarrelli

Polymers 2020, 12(5), 1153; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12051153 - 18 May 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3021

Abstract

The effects of temperature and moisture on flexural and thermomechanical properties of neat and filled epoxy with both multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT), carbon nanofibers (CNF), and their hybrid components were investigated. Two regimes of environmental aging were applied: Water absorption at 70 °C until equilibrium moisture content and thermal heating at 70 °C for the same time period. Three-point bending and dynamic mechanical tests were carried out for all samples before and after conditioning. The property prediction model (PPM) was successfully applied for the prediction of the modulus of elasticity in bending of manufactured specimens subjected to both water absorption and thermal aging. It was experimentally confirmed that, due to addition of carbon nanofillers to the epoxy resin, the sorption, flexural, and thermomechanical characteristics were slightly improved compared to the neat system. Considering experimental and theoretical results, most of the epoxy composites filled with hybrid carbon nanofiller revealed the lowest effect of temperature and moisture on material properties, along with the lowest sorption characteristics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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14 pages, 6132 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Physical Aging on Gas Transport in Asymmetric Polyimide Hollow Fibers Prepared by Triple-Orifice Spinneret

by Gabriele Clarizia, Franco Tasselli and Paola Bernardo

Polymers 2020, 12(2), 441; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12020441 - 13 Feb 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2701

Abstract

The systematic evaluation of the gas transport properties related to differences in the history of the samples is a useful tool to appropriately design a membrane-based gas separation system. The permeation rate of six pure gases was measured over time in asymmetric hollow-fiber (HF) samples, that were prepared according to the non-solvent-induced phase separation in different operation conditions, in order to identify their response to physical aging. Four types of HFs having a different structure were analyzed, comparing samples spun in a triple-orifice spinneret to HFs prepared using a conventional spinneret. A generalized gas permeance decline, coupled to a maintained permselectivity for the different gas pairs, was observed for all HFs. Instead, H₂/N₂ permselectivity values were enhanced upon aging. Cross-linked hollow-fiber samples showed a marked size-sieving behavior that favored the separation of small species, e.g., hydrogen, from other larger species and a good stability over time. Some HFs, post-treated using different alcohols, presented a permeance decay independently on the alcohol type and a greater selectivity over time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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18 pages, 3815 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Energy-Based Concept for Yielding of Multidirectional FRP Composite Structures Using a Mesoscale Lamina Damage Model

by Seyed Saeid Rahimian Koloor, Atefeh Karimzadeh, Noorfaizal Yidris, Michal Petrů, Majid Reza Ayatollahi and Mohd Nasir Tamin

Polymers 2020, 12(1), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12010157 - 7 Jan 2020

Cited by 48 | Viewed by 5661

Abstract

Composite structures are made of multidirectional (MD) fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite laminates, which fail due to multiple damages in matrix, interface, and fiber constituents at different scales. The yield point of a unidirectional FRP composite is assumed as the lamina strength limit representing the damage initiation phenomena, while yielding of MD composites in structural applications are not quantified due to the complexity of the sequence of damage evolutions in different laminas dependent on their angle and specification. This paper proposes a new method to identify the yield point of MD composite structures based on the evolution of the damage dissipation energy (DDE). Such a characteristic evolution curve is computed using a validated finite element model with a mesoscale damage-based constitutive model that accounts for different matrix and fiber failure modes in angle lamina. The yield point of composite structures is identified to correspond to a 5% increase in the initial slope of the DDE evolution curve. The yield points of three antisymmetric MD FRP composite structures under flexural loading conditions are established based on Hashin unidirectional (UD) criteria and the energy-based criterion. It is shown that the new energy concept provides a significantly larger safe limit of yield for MD composite structures compared to UD criteria, in which the accumulation of energy dissipated due to all damage modes is less than 5% of the fracture energy required for the structural rupture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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13 pages, 1805 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental and Prediction Study of Displacement-Rate Effects on Flexural Behaviour in Nano and Micro TiO₂ Particles-Epoxy Resin Composites

by George C. Papanicolaou, Aikaterini E. Manara and Lykourgos C. Kontaxis

Polymers 2020, 12(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12010022 - 20 Dec 2019

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2435

Abstract

Epoxy resin composites with different weight fractions of TiO₂ microparticles (1%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%) and of TiO₂ nanoparticles (0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%) were prepared. The particle size of the nanoparticles was averaged around 21 nm while the particle size of the micro TiO₂ particles was averaged around 0.2 μm. The morphology of the manufactured particulate composites was studied by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical properties of both nanocomposites (21 nm) and microcomposites (0.2 μm) were investigated and compared through flexural testing. Furthermore, the effect of displacement-rate on the viscoelastic behavior of composite materials was investigated. The flexural tests were carried out at different filler weight fractions and different displacement-rates (0.5, 5, 10, 50 mm/min). The influence of TiO₂ micro- and nanoparticles on the mechanical response of the manufactured composites was studied. For micro TiO₂ composites, a maximum increase in flexural modulus on the order of 23% was achieved, while, in the nanocomposites, plastification of the epoxy matrix due to the presence of TiO₂ nanoparticles was observed. Both behaviors were predicted by the Property Prediction Model (PPM), and a fair agreement between experimental results and theoretical predictions was observed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Properties and Durability of Advanced Polymers and Polymer Composites)

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