Matrix
• The role of the matrix in fiber reinforced composite are:
• i)To transfer stresses between the fibers
• Ii) To provide a barrier against an adverse environment.
• iii)To protect the surface of the fibers from mechanical
abrasion.
• Thermoplastic and Thermosetting polymers are the
predominate in PMC.
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Thermoplastic Matrixes
• Nylone
• Polypropylene
• ABS
• Usually with short chopped fibers
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Thermosetting Matrixes
• Polyester resin
• Epoxy resin
• Vinyl ester resin
• Phenolic resin
• Cyanate Ester resin
• Polyurethanes
• Bismaleimides (BMI)
• Poyimides resin
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Curing and Gelation
• Cure is defined as a process for changing the
properties of a resin via chemical reaction.
Occur during cure
• Chemical reaction
• Heat evolution (heat of reaction)
• Evolution of any volatiles
• Increase in viscosity
• Gelation
• Vitrification
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Curing and Gelation
• Viscosity of the system rises until gelation
occurs. (materials will no longer flow). WHY?
• Two phases exist (gel phase & sol phase).
• The sol phase can be extracted with solvents.
• The amount of sol phase decreases as the
reaction progresses further.
• Finally, vitrification (hardening) occurs.
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The Time Temperature transformation
diagram (TTT)
• TTT diagram can be use to visualize and compare
cure of thermosetting systems.
• TTT diagrams mark the times four main events
occur during isothermal cure at various
temperature.
• Gelation
• Vitrification
• Full cure
• Devitrification
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TTT
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TTT
• Gelation: The incipient formation of an infinite
molecular network and the system will no
longer flow.
• Vitrification: The Tg of the forming polymer
rises above the temperature of cure, and the
polymer become more and more cross-linked.
• Full cure: highest attainable degree of cure.
• Devitrification: The Tg decreases through the
isothermal temperature, (degradation).
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Manufacturing Technique
• Hand lay-up / wet lay up
• Spray lay up
• Filament winding
• Pultrusion
• Vacuum Bagging/ aoutoclave molding
• Resin Transfer molding
• Compression molding
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Interface in Composite Materials
• To say that composites consists of matrix and
fiber is only partially correct.
• In order for composite to be form fiber and
matrix have to be in some way connected.
• The quality of the connection determines
many properties such as strength, toughness.
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Theories of adhesion
• Adhesion can be attributed to five main
mechanisms, which can occur at the interface
either in isolation or in combination to form
bond.
• Adsorption and wetting
• Interdiffusion
• Electrostatic attraction
• Chemical bonding
• Mechanical adhesion
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1- Adsorption and wetting
• If two electrically neutral surfaces are brought
sufficiently close together, there will be
physical attraction, by considering the wetting
of the solid surface via liquids.
• If two solids brought together, the roughness
of the surface on an atomic scale prevent the
surface coming into contact except at some
points.
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Two solid surfaces
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Adsorption and wetting
• Wetting can be understood in terms of two simple Eqs.
1- Dupre Eq. for thermodynamic work of adhesion.
•
• Where γ1 is the surface free energy of the solid, γ2 is
the surface tension of a liquid and γ12 is the interfacial
tension between solid and the liquid.
• This eq. can be related to physical situation of liquid
drop on solid surface using Young eq.
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2- Young’s equation
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Contact Angle
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Work of Adhesion
• A value for work of adhesion can be obtained
be combining eq 1 and 2.
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Critical surface tension
• The critical surface tension is the highest liquid surface
tension that can completely wet a specific solid surface.
• Therefore, the best wetting occurs with a solid with high
surface energy and liquid with a low surface energy.
• Thus, glass and graphite with theoretically calculated
surface energy of 560 mj/m2 and 70 mj/m2 respectively will
be readily wetted by polyester and epoxy resins with
surface energy of 35 mj/m2 and 43 mj/m2 respectively.
• It will be difficult to wet polyethylene, which has a critical
surface energy of 31 mj/m2 with these resins.
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Affecting Factors
• Surface contamination.
• Presence of entrapped air and other
gases at the solid surface.
• The occurrence of large shrinkage
stress during the curing process
leading to displacement at the
surface.
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2- Interdiffusion
• It is to form a bond between two polymer
surfaces by the diffusion of the polymer
molecules on one into other surface of
molecular network.
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2- Interdiffusion
• The strength of the bond depend on:
• 1- number of molecules involved
• 2- the amount of molecular entanglement
• 3- presence of solvents and plasticizing agents
• 4- fiber precoated with polymer before
incorporating into the polymer matrix.
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3- Electrostatic Attraction
• Attraction forces occur between two surface
when one surface carries a net positive charge
and the other surface curries a net negative
charge.
• The strength of the interface is depend on the
density of the charge.
• In most cases electrostatic attraction is
unlikely to make major contribution to the
final bond strength of fiber-matrix.
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3- Electrostatic Attraction
• Electrostatic forces could have an important
role in the way coupling agents working.
• Some time the surface of glass fiber may
exhibit anionic or cationic properties
depending on the oxides of the glass.
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4- Chemical Bonding
• Chemical bonding offers the main explanation
for the use of coupling agents on glass, and
carbon fibers in polymer matrix.
• The strength of the bond depends on number
and type of bonds.
• The processes of chemical bonding and
breakage might need form of energy in some
cases.
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5- Mechanical Adhesion
• Some bonding may occur purely be
mechanical interlocking of two surfaces.
•
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5- Mechanical Adhesion
• The strength of this interface is unlikely to be high
unless there are a large number of re-entrant
angles on the fiber surface.
• Roughness of the surface might has a significant
effect on the mechanical adhesion strength.
• Resin shrinkage during curing of thermosetting
polymers, different thermal expansion of the
fiber and matrix can have a negative effect on the
final adhesion characteristics.
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Thank U
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